From prayers and huddles with MLAs to watering plants: How leaders prepared for counting day

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited a number of religious sites in the run-up to the results. He started the week with a visit to Guru Hargobind Sahib Gurudwara in the outskirts of Bhopal. He then visited his constituency, Budhni, where he met a flower seller and sought her blessings. The flower seller, Prem Bai, had earlier given a ring to Chouhan as a good luck charm during a campaign stop.

On Friday, he met BJP national president J P Nadda, who visited the state along with several senior BJP leaders, including Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and state Home Minister Narottam Mishra.

On counting day eve, Chouhan took out time to water some plants in Bhopal.

“The CM is basically spending time with his family and visiting temples. He visited temples in Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Gwalior and Datia. On Saturday, the CM visited a temple in Sehore,” a source close to Chouhan said.

His main rival in the state, Congress leader Kamal Nath, spent the last few days rallying his party workers to turn up at counting centres on Sunday.

Nath, who will be in Bhopal’s Congress headquarters on Sunday, also sought to reassure party workers, telling them not to be disappointed with exit polls, which indicated an upper hand to the BJP.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao spent most of Friday and Saturday meeting leaders and ministers of the ruling BRS at his office-cum-residence, Pragathi Bhavan, in Hyderabad. He also reviewed voting trends and percentages and had interactions with candidates of some key constituencies.

The CM also reportedly told party leaders not to pay too much heed to exit polls, which have predicted a Congress victory.

Party insiders said KCR and other top BRS leaders mostly were confined to their homes after the high-octane campaign.

Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy was also busy interacting with several senior party leaders and candidates at his Jubilee Hills residence.

The Congress leaders discussed their action plan to prevent “poaching” of MLAs in case the results throw up a hung verdict. Insiders said Congress legislators may be shifted to Karnataka in such a scenario.

Apart from an interview Reddy gave to a TV channel, he spent most of his time at home. On Saturday afternoon, the TPCC chief met state Chief Electoral Officer, Vikas Raj, to submit a complaint against the BRS for allegedly breaching the Model Code of Conduct.

Telangana BJP chief Kishan Reddy took out time in the run-up to the results to supervise repairs and changes being made to the party headquarters in Nampally. He held discussions on the outcome of elections, and also spent time at his residence with his family.

In Rajasthan, with exit polls indicating a close finish, both Congress and the BJP were preparing to sequester their MLAs, and party leaders were keeping in touch with Independents as well as rebel MLAs.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot stayed at home until the evening on Saturday, with sources saying that he was receiving updates from across the state and was in touch with the party high command. Later, he reached the party’s Central War Room and held a video conference with Congress candidates from around the state.

“The idea is to prepare the candidates for any eventuality,” a party leader said.

BJP leader Vasundhara Raje on Saturday visited the Moti Doongri temple in Jaipur and the Mehandipur Balaji temple in Dausa, as has been her tradition ahead of important days.

आज जयपुर के मोती डूंगरी मंदिर में एकदंत भगवान श्री गणेश जी की पूजा-अर्चना कर प्रदेश की सुख-समृद्धि एवं खुशहाली की कामना की।
जय हो गणेश !#MotiDungriGaneshji pic.twitter.com/5BEpAZD9pQ

— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) December 2, 2023

She was also said to be actively in touch with her party’s candidates, especially her loyalists. On Friday, she also met RSS leaders at Bharti Bhawan, the Sangh’s office in Jaipur.

देव-दर्शन की कड़ी में आज दौसा स्थित मेहंदीपुर बालाजी महाराज के दर्शन का सौभाग्य भी प्राप्त हुआ।

यहां वीर हनुमान से राष्ट्र की सुख एवं समृद्धि के लिए पूजा-अर्चना की।#MehandipurBalaji pic.twitter.com/i79w9Bimlv

— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) December 2, 2023

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel spent Saturday at his residence in Raipur, and spoke with top Congress leaders in New Delhi over the phone. “He appeared eager, calm and confident. He has asked all MLAs to come to Raipur with their certificates,” said a source close to Baghel.

Baghel’s party colleague and Deputy CM, T S Singh Deo, too, was in touch with leaders in New Delhi. Deo had made it clear that this was his last election, and sources said he wanted to be chief minister.

Deo and Baghel separately met Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij.

BJP leader and former CM Raman Singh gave interviews to the media and also met his party’s MLA candidates on Saturday. He posted a quote by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on social media, which read: “The darkness will disappear, the sun will rise, the lotus will bloom.”

A source close to Singh said: “Sweets were distributed to guests who came to meet Singh ji in anticipation of BJP coming back to power after five years.”