Will MP witness a power change?

In the last elections held in December 2003, the polling percentage was 67 per cent and this time it has reached 69.31 per cent, experts said.

The last elections in the state saw BJP coming to power after 10 years of Congress rule under the leadership of Digvijay Singh.

At that time, the wave was clearly in favour of the BJP but this time there has been no wave and yet the polling percentage reached a record 69.31 per cent.

Poll analyst D S Tiwari said the increased voting percentage indicated that people were in a mood for change.

But Tiwari also feels that the BJP has been successful in marketing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as a brand in the electoral market.

Asked if the terror attacks on Mumbai a night before the elections in Madhya Pradesh had an impact on the polling, he said that people concerned about security may have swung towards the BJP.

He also said that normally educated people do not venture out of their homes to cast their vote.

Another poll analyst V D Mehta said that based on his experience, a polling percentage higher than expected indicates people’s inclination for a change in power.

He said that with passage of time, voters appear to have become more intelligent and pointed out that in the earlier days, people openly disclosed whom they had voted for but now-a-days prefer to stay quiet on their choices.

Mehta said the silence of the voter has great significance particularly at a time when the polling percentage surpasses expectations.

He said earlier studies had shown that a record polling generally did not mean that the voter liked the incumbent government’s record in office.

A high polling percentage also showed that there was no possibility of a hung assembly in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

A senior BJP leader on condition of anonymity said that although voters might be angry with MLAs and ministers to a certain extent, they were also unhappy with party workers and this could cost the party heavily.