MP votes today, challenger Congress banks on CM Chouhan ‘anti-incumbency’ to edge out BJP

The BJP has also been reeling from factional feuds. To energise the party cadres and project multiple CM faces to neutralise anti-incumbency being faced by Chouhan, the BJP leadership rolled out its several high-profile leaders and MPs – including three Union Ministers, Narendra Singh Tomar (Dimani seat), Prahlad Patel (Narsinghpur), and Faggan Singh Kulaste (Niwas) – and national party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya (Indore-1).

Assembly Elections 2023 | Voting kicks off in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh

Also in contention are three BJP MPs, including Rakesh Singh, Ganesh Singh and Riti Pathak.

Chouhan had been the CM continuously from 2005 to 2018, and returned to power in early 2020 after then senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s rebellion brought down the Kamal Nath-led Congress government, which had come to power after the grand old party had beaten the BJP to emerge as the single largest party with 114 seats, just 2 seats short of a simple majority, in the 2018 Assembly polls.

After three consecutive terms in power, the BJP had then ended up with 109 seats. However, following the rebellion of Scindia, the scion of the erstwhile Gwalior royal family and current Union Minister, the BJP has 128 seats as against the Congress’s 98 seats in the outgoing Assembly.

However, this time, waiting in the wings is Kamal Nath, who spearheaded the Congress’s campaign across the state, which was firmly backed by his senior colleague and long-time friend Digvijaya Singh, the two-time CM.

While Chouhan is again contesting from his home turf Budhni, Kamal Nath is fighting from his Chhindwara bastion.

Digvijaya’s son and ex-minister Jaivardhan Singh and Congress stalwart late Arjun Singh’s son Ajay Singh are contesting from their traditional Raghogarh and Churhat seats, respectively, on the party’s tickets.

The Congress would also hope for an improved showing in the tribal seats again, as in the last elections it won 30 as compared to the BJP’s 16.

Although the MP elections have always been a bipolar battle between the BJP and the Congress, other parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP), among others, have also fielded their candidates in many seats.

With both the BJP and the Congress beset with rebellions by disgruntled ticket aspirants, the smaller parties may play a key role in determining the outcome of several seats, especially since the polls are expected to be a close affair across the state.

There are as many as 5,60,58,521 voters, including 2,87,82,261 males, 2,71,99,586 females and 1,292 third gender persons, in the state.

The women voters’ turnout would be crucial for CM Chouhan, who undertook a massive welfare exercise to reach out to them, launching his flagship Ladli Behana scheme which provides a monthly stipend of Rs 1,259 for women from poor families.

Of the total 230 seats, 47 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 35 for the Scheduled Castes (SCs).

A total of 2,533 candidates of political parties and Independents – 2,280 males, 252 females and one third gender person – are in the fray. The number of “critical” voting stations stands at 17,032, while 5,260 booths will have all women polling personnel, the Election Commission (EC) stated.

Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in all the Assembly seats – except in the Naxal-affected segments such as Baihar, Lanjhi and Paraswada seats in Balaghat district, 55 booths in Mandla district’s Bichhiya and Mandla seats and 40 polling stations of Dindori district, where voting time is 7 am to 3 pm, MP’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan told reporters.

The polling booths which recorded very high turnout or witnessed any sort of violence during previous elections, are designated as “critical polling stations”.

As many as 183 polling stations have been set up for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), Rajan said. For the first time, 371 youth-managed booths have been set up, while the number of “model” polling stations are 2,536, he added.