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Deepak Tiwari
Deepak Tiwari

Cong, BJP pour in resources for 'semifinal' Assembly bypolls in MP

jyotiraditya-scindia-mungaoli-twitter Jyotiraditya Scindia addressing tribals in Mungaoli | Jyotiraditya Scindia's Twitter account

The bypolls for Mungaoli and Kolaras Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, to be held on February 24, have become a kind of semifinal for the ruling BJP and opposition Congress as the state goes to Assembly polls in November this year.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to win these bypolls as the last two bypolls held in 2017 were won by the Congress.

The bypoll dates were declared on Friday after the two Assembly seats fell vacant due to the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs Mahendra Singh Kalukheda in Mungaoli and Ram Singh Yadav in Kolaras.

Incidentally, the two seats are part of the Guna Lok Sabha seat represented by Congress stalwart Jyotiraditya Scindia. Counting of votes to the two seats will be done on February 28.

Unofficially, the Congress has given responsibility of the two seats to Scindia, as it has become a matter of prestige for the scion of the erstwhile Gwalior princely state. Scindia had openly expressed his desire to lead the Congress party in the upcoming Assembly polls.

The bypolls are very crucial for the Congress and BJP and both have pumped in their maximum resources.

According to Brajesh Rajput, a political analyst, “the results are likely to reflect the mood of the state in the run-up to Assembly polls.”

The Congress party is in a upbeat mood with their satisfactory performance in the elections to 19 local bodies. The Congress won more seats compared with the BJP in the results declared on Saturday.

“The party has a reason to be in upbeat mood as the last two Assembly bypolls at Ater in Chambal region and Chitrakoot were won by Congress,” said Rajput.

Since the two seats fall in his bastion, Scindia does not want to leave any stone unturned to win the the seats. He had even included the name of his wife Priyadarshini Raje in the voter list of Shivpuri district. It is rumoured that he may field his wife from one of the seats.

Scindia has spent over 60 days in the two Assembly constituencies ever since they fell vacant while the chief minister has visited around a dozen times. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan even sent his son, Kartikeya Chouhan, to Kolaras Assembly seat to address a meeting of the Kirar community.

On the other hand, the BJP too wants to win these polls as losing four successive bypolls in the state before going to full Assembly elections will send a wrong message to the electorate. The chief minister has pushed over a dozen ministers for campaigning in the two Assembly seats, with Arvind Bhadoriya being made in-charge of the electioneering.

Congress cadres are buoyed after the Gujarat results where the opposition party fared well, giving a tough fight to the ruling BJP. They are especially happy with the emergence of the Congress in rural areas.

Leaders in Madhya Pradesh know very well the fact that out of 230 seats, around 170 seats are rural in nature. Since the nationwide farmers protest in June-July got major ground in the state after police firing killed six peasants in Mandsaur, the BJP appears nervous.

Though Shivraj had announced a slew of measures to counter the unrest and falling prices of agricultural produce, the unrest has spread to other parts of the state. The chief minister was known to be a ‘farmer’s CM’ but the police firing has dented his image and national-level economic policies have further disturbed the farmers economy, which was primarily based on cash transactions.

“Demonetisation and GST have hugely impacted the rural economy,” says Arun Yadav, state Congress president.

The BJP will be completing 15 years in power in the state this year. Shivraj, who has been chief minister for 13 years, is facing massive anti-incumbency along with cases like the Vyapam Scam.

The anti-incumbency of the ruling party will be a major issue while all the elected institutions like local bodies, state and centre having BJP in power will further help opposition Congress create an environment like the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when Narendra Modi could hold the Congress responsible for every failure.

Scindia, tipped to lead the state Congress in next elections, is also leaving no stone unturned to defeat BJP. “If Congress wins these two elections, with its chances being very high, the BJP will go to polls with four Assembly byelections lost in a row. It will be a major morale booster for Congress,” says Devdutt Dubey, a columnist.

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