The Election Commission finished counting of votes in all 230 seats in the Madhya Pradesh assembly election by 8am on Wednesday, 24 hours after it began. The final tally of seats has the Congress as the single-largest party with 114 seats, with the BJP at 109 seats. The BSP has two seats, the SP one seat and independent candidates have won four seats each.
The BJP had a higher vote share (41 per cent), securing 1,56,42,980 votes in total against the Congress's 1,55,95,153 votes (40.9 per cent). In the 2013 assembly election, the BJP had secured 165 seats and the Congress only 58.
In a letter submitted to Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Tuesday night, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath wrote that “all the independents” have “assured” support for the Congress. While the support of the four independent candidates is expected to see the Congress cross the half-way mark of 114 seats, the party had also reached out to the BSP and SP on Tuesday.
The letter Kamal Nath sent to the MP governor | Supplied
The letter from Kamal Nath was acknowledged by the governor's staff. While Kamal Nath had sought an appointment with Patel on Tuesday night itself to request a chance to form the government, the governor was reportedly waiting for the final results to come in.
Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia have been touted as being frontrunners for the post of chief minister in a Congress-led government. The Congress legislature party is expected to meet on Wednesday and party's high command has sent senior leader A.K. Antony as an observer.
