Madhya Pradesh Election Results 2018 highlights: With the help of BSP, Congress to form govt

Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel has invited senior Congress leaders to form the government. Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia, among others, have reached Raj Bhawan in Bhopal to meet the Governor. The BSP and the SP have lent support to the Congress to help secure majority seats in the House.

(Express Photo/Anil Sharma)

The Samajwadi Party, which won one seat in Madhya Pradesh, has extended support to the Congress to help form the government in Madhya Pradesh. With two BSP seats, one SP seat and its own 114 seats, the Congress has a clear majority of 117 seats in the 230-member House.

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— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) December 12, 2018

Incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has conceded defeat. "We did not get majority. We will not stake claim to form the government," he says, adding that he will tender his resignation to the Governor.  

The BSP has extended support to the Congress, to help it cross the halfway mark and form the government. Mayawati said the party doesn't always agree with the Congress' ideology, but will support it to help keep the BJP out of power in the state. The BSP's two seats and the Congress' 114 will help garner a majority of 116 seats in the 230-member House. The Congress is likely to stake claim to form the government shortly. 

The Congress has emerged as the single largest party in Madhya Pradesh after winning 114 seats in the 230-member House. The BJP has won 109 seats, while the BSP has won one seat and Independents four.

The slow counting of votes is because of a combination of procedural reasons. According to EC sources, the delay is due to four factors: increase in votes cast through postal ballot, mandatory tallying of EVM count with VVPAT slips, wafer-thin margins in Madhya Pradesh and a cautious approach adopted to avoid the embarrassment suffered during Nagaland polls this year.  Read our full story here

The Congress has won 113 seats, while the BJP has won 109. The BSP has one seat while other candidates have taken four seats. Counting for one seat is underway.

Good morning! Four seats are still being counted for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections. Stay tuned, we'll bring you the final numbers shortly. Right now, the Congress has won 112 seats while the BJP has won 108 seats. 

Kamal Nath, Congress in Bhopal: With utmost happiness, I wish to inform you that Congress has won clear majority. We have written a letter to the Governor to invite us so that we can prove our majority before him. #MadhyaPradeshElections2018 pic.twitter.com/sgccRiYUXi

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018

JUST IN: Counting over in 215 ACs of MP, going on in 15 seats, say EC sources @IndianExpress #MadhyaPradeshElection2018

— Ritika Chopra (@KhurafatiChopra) December 11, 2018

Governor House: An appointment will be given only after the situation is made clear by the Election Commission. #MadhyaPradeshElections2018 https://t.co/HSpUhYOcov

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018

JUST IN: The wait for final results in MP could go up to 3am, say EC sources @IndianExpress

— Ritika Chopra (@KhurafatiChopra) December 11, 2018

The Congress party sought an appointment with the Governor of Madhya Pradesh Anandiben Patel to apprise her about the foundation of the government in the state. State party president Kamal Nath wrote in its letter to the Governor apprising that the party has emerged as the single largest party with majority support and sought an appointment with the Governor late tonight, soon after the results are declared.

The latest trends show both the Congress and the BJP leading in 44 seats each, with the former winning 69 seats and the latter, 66. The majority mark in the 230-member house is 116. With neither party seeming to get majority, the BSP may be the kingmaker for government formation. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress Tuesday on the results of Assembly elections in three states- Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan-where the opposition party is leading over the BJP.

The Prime Minister says the BJP "accepts the people’s mandate with humility", thanking the people of the three North Indian states that had been the party's bastion.

Congratulations to the Congress for their victories.

Congratulations to KCR Garu for the thumping win in Telangana and to the Mizo National Front (MNF) for their impressive victory in Mizoram.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 11, 2018

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has won from the Budhni constituency, with 123492 votes, ahead of Congress' Arun Subhashchandra. The BJP, however, is leading in 109 seats in the state, behind the Congress, which is leading in 114 seats. 

BJP's Yashodhara Raje Scindia wins from Shivpuri constituency with a margin of 28,748 votes. 

The Congress has apointed senior leader and former Defence Minister  AK Antony as the central observor in Madhya Pradesh, where the party is inching closer to victory, according to latest trends by the Election Commission. The Congress is leading in 112 seats in the 230-member house, while the BJP is leading in 111 seats. The halfway mark is 116

K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has swept the state. For the BJP, more than losing the election, the fact that these numbers put its dream to enter southern India on hold should be of greater concern.

[bc_video video_id="5978028620001" account_id="5798671093001" player_id="rJYNWzcQ7"]

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, addressing reporters, said the results of the state assembly elections is a "victory for Congress workers, small traders, farmers", adding that it is a "big responsibility" for the party. 

Hinting at a post-poll alliance, Gandhi said "the ideology of SP, BSP and Congress is the same - different from that of BJP."  In Madhya Pradesh, the SP and BSP are leading on 1 and 2 seats respectively, while the Congress is leading on 111 seats, 5 seats short of the majority mark. 

The Congress has won 14 seats in Madhya Pradesh and leading in 97, giving a tough fight to the BJP, which is leading in 94 seats and has won 16. 

Madhya Pradesh: Celebrations underway outside Congress office in Bhopal. Congress has won 12 seats leading on 100 seats in the state. #AssemblyElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/SvKfj1d8rl

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018

The Congress party, leading in three BJP ruled states- Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh- said the results show that "democracy has won". 

"Democracy has won. Thank you India, you have chosen love over hate, peace over violence  and truth over lies," the party tweeted.

Congress candidate PC Sharma is leading in the Bhopal (South West) constituency with 6 votes, ahead of BJP's Umashankar Gupta, according to the latest EC trends. 

The Madhya Pradesh elections results could be anyone's guess right now, with both the Congress and the BJP in a nail-biting contest to win majority in the state.  The BJP has won 3 seats and is leading on 104, while the Congress is leading on 114 seats. BJP's Aakash Kailash Vijayvargiya has won from Indore-3 constituency with a margin of 7000 votes.

The halfway mark being 116, the BSP may emerge as kingmaker in goverment formation. Mayawati's party is leading on 2 seats. 

As trends indicated Congress' good show in Madhya Pradesh with the party having a close fight with the BJP,   the opposition party said the "money power" of the BJP stood defeated by the "people's power".

A dozen ministers in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh were trailing in the state Assembly polls as per the latest trends, PTI reported quoting an election official.

Minister Narottam Mishra was trailing in Datia while Rustam Singh was at the third position in Morena constituency. Balkrishna Patidar was trailing in Khargone, while Lal Singh Arya was lagging behind in Gohad seat in Bhind district.

Minister Om Prakash Dhurve was trailing in Shahpura seat of Dindori district while Antar Singh Arya was trailing in Sendhwa seat of
Barwani district. Deepak Joshi was behind in Hatpipliya seat in Dewas district, while Rampal Singh was trailing in Silvani seat in Raisen district. Minister Archana Chitnis was also trailing in Burhanpur seat.

State finance minister Jayant Mallaiya was behind by 1,336 votes in Damoh seat. Another minister, Sharad Jain, was trailing in Jabalpur North seat and Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya in Gwalior seat.

Former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee's nephew and Morena BJP MP Anoop Mishra, who contested the election on the BJP's ticket, was trailing from Bhitarwar seat in Gwalior district.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kakade said the party is surprised with the trends showing a neck-and-neck fight with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where the incumbent party was expecting a sure victory.

"I knew we would lose in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh but MP trends have come as a surprise. I think we forgot the issue of development that Modi took up in 2014. Ram Mandir, statues and  name changing became the focus," he told news agency ANI. 

The BJP has secured 1 seat and is leading in 106 others in the 230-member house in Madhya Pradesh, as Congress leads in 113. The BSP could be a kingmaker, leading in 4 seats. 

The BJP headquarters in Delhi was witness to a gloomy atmosphere, as fight to retain its heartland states-Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan grow seemingly elusive, with tough fightback from the Congress.

The Congress is leading in 113 seats in Madhya Pradesh, with the BJP behind in 106, according to latest trends by the Election Commission.  The vote share, however, is 41.3% with the BJP and 41.2% with the Congress.

With the Congress throwing a tough fight to the incumbent BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who spearheaded the party's campaign in the state, exuded confidence in its victory, but remained elusive on who the party will choose to be the Chief Minister in case it wins. 

Asked about posters being put up that Kamal Nath would be CM, Scindia said, "Let us not put the cart before the horse. Let us wait for the verdict". 

The closely-contested Madhya Pradesh elections are throwing a neck-and-neck fight between the Congress and the BJP. With the final numbers yet to come in, the BSP, leading in 4 seats, may be the kingmaker in government formation. 

The Congress party, however, has jumped leaps this time around, from just 58 seats in 2013. In the previously held elections in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP won a comfortable majority with 165 seats in the 230-member house. 

BJP's lone Muslim candidate Fatima Rasool Siddiqui is trailing from Bhopal (North). Congress' Arif Aqueel, who has represented the constituency since 1998, leads by a margin on around 23,000 votes. In Tikamgarh seat, meanwhile, Congress' candidate Yadvendra Singh leads with 17,000 votes over BJP's Rakesh Giri.

None of the Above (NOTA) has a higher  vote share — 1.5% — than the Samajwadi Party (1.0%) and AAP (0.6%) right now. In other trends, the BJP is currently leading in 111 seats while the Congress is up in 109 seats. The BSP leads in three seats, while other candidates in seven.

Here are some trends emerging from Madhya Pradesh. Women and Child Development Minister Archana Chitnis is trailing in Burhanpur by 4,000 votes, while Agriculture Minister Gaurishankar Chaturbhuj Bisen is ahead in Balaghat. Revenue Minister Umashankar Gupta is leading in Bhopal South West by a small margin.  CM Chouhan continues to lead from Budhni seat. 

Up to 15 rounds of counting has been completed in Madhya Pradesh. Here are some trends: Shivraj Singh Chouhan leads from Budhni by over 33,000 votes, Congress candidate Arun Subhashchandra trails with nearly 14,000 votes. In Shivpuri, Yashodhara Raje Scindia leads by 33,000 votes, while Congress' Siddharth Ladha has 17,000 votes.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweets. "Jab ek aur ek milkar bante hai gyaarah, tab badey bado ki satta ho jaati hai nau do gyaarah (when one and one come together, it makes 11, and the power of the bigwigs eventually fade away)," he says. Hm...

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— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) December 11, 2018

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi arrives at 10 Janpath, the residence of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Trends show the party is ahead in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while Madhya Pradesh witnesses a neck-and-neck fight between the ruling party BJP and Congress. 

National Conference leader and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah calls it "even-steven" in Madhya Pradesh. "From what I hear the BJP hasn’t given up the hope of forming a government there. 'Others' in Madhya Pradesh will be a happy lot at the moment."

Here's what the vote share looks like right now. The BJP is marginally ahead of the Congress. The party has a 41.8% vote share compared to Congress' 41%. The smaller parties have a 17% vote share.

The IndianExpress.com has a LIVE data map of the results coming in from Madhya Pradesh as well as constituency-wise data. Click here to for visual data

The results are still close, with the BJP currently in the lead in 110 seats while the Congress leads in 109 seats.

Congress Bhawan in Raipur @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/PEglZUmqZI

— Dipankar Ghose (@dipankarghose31) December 11, 2018

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had said while campaigning that it would play a key role in the formation of the next government in Madhya Pradesh. “Neither the BJP nor the Congress is going to get a majority. In this case, the Congress would support us to form the government in Madhya Pradesh,” state BSP chief Pradeep Ahirwar had said. "Our first priority is to form government in MP. We want Behanji to call the political shots in the state."

Interestingly, this may be the case. As reported in The Indian Express today, the BJP has been in touch with Independent and BSP candidates since exit polls predicted a slight edge for the Congress in the state. “MP does not have a history of a fractured mandate but the exit polls have induced a sense of anxiety in the party. We are doing everything that it takes to be in the race,’’ a senior BJP leader said. He claimed the Congress was wooing candidates as well.

Union Home Ministr Rajnath Singh says the results of the Assembly elections are not a reflection of the Modi government. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, on the first day of the winter session, Rajnath congratulates the winning parties and candidates.

The neck-and-neck fight in Madhya Pradesh continues. The BJP is leading at 107 seats, while the Congress is ahead by a narrow margin of 1 seat at 108

This is a see-saw match between the BJP and Congress. The two parties are in a neck-and-neck in a fight to form the government inMadhya Pradesh. The tally is currently at 114 for Congress and 104 to the BJP. 

The BJP has crossed the halfway mark in Madhya Pradesh, leading in 116 seats. The Congress is leading in 107 seats. The Congress continues to express confidence that it will win a majority in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress is leading in 108 seats, while the BJP is up in 112. Other parties are up in 11 seats. The Congress is marginally ahead in Panna, where BJP had dropped minister Kusum Mehdele. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is ahead by 2,100+ in Budhni constituency.

As Congress inches towards a victory in Rajasthan, the question remains: who will be CM? Ashok Gehlot tells ANI that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will take a decision. Scindia had said earlier in the day, "Lets not put the cart before the horse. Let us wait for the verdict."

Here are some trends in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress is leading in six of the seven seats in Satna district. BJP's Sitasaran Sharma is leading in Hoshangabad over Congress' Sartaj Singh. 

Congress leader Kamal Nath says the party will get full majority to form the government. "These are trends, but I am fully confident that we will get full majority in Madhya Pradesh," he says.

The Congress leads in 115 seats, while the BJP leads in just 98. A party needs to secure wins in 116 seats to form the government.

Here are some pictures from the counting booths in Madhya Pradesh 

(Express Photo/Miling Ghatwai)

The Congress is leading in 112 seats, a 56+ gain, while the BJP leads in 97 seats. The BSP is up in four seats. Here are ten points about the elections that will keep you up to speed with the results today.

Jyotiraditya Scindia says Congress will win today. He expresses confidence that the party will win the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2018 with a good majority. Read The Indian Express interview with Scindia ahead of the polls, where he says the BJP is unsettled and worried, which means the Congress is on the right track.

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— Jyotiraditya Scindia (@JM_Scindia) December 11, 2018

Incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is leading in Budhni constituency. BJP leads in Bhopal's Govindpuri and Narela. Congress, meanwhile, is ahead in Huzur. 

In case you're just tuning in, we are running live blogs on the election results for all the states. In Rajasthan, the Congress is leading in 98 seats, while the BJP leads in 83. In Chhattisgarh, Congress leads in 48 while BJP in 26. TRS is heading for a sweep in Telangana, as it leads in 80. In Mizoram, MNF leads in 22 seats, followed by Congress in six. For all updates, click here.

The BJP seats are increasing, and it's back to neck-and-neck between the BJP and Congress. The tally is now 104 seats to the Congress and 102 to the BJP.

Right now, the Congress is leading in 101 seats while the BJP is leading in 88. BSP is leading in five seats. Psephologist Yogendra Yadav has given the Congress a 75 per cent chance of winning in Rajasthan. At least a 116 seats are required to form the government.

In case you're just joining us, here's what is happening in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress is leading in initial trends, up 89 seats. The BJP is leading in 78 seats. The results today are significant as MP is the most populous state of the five today. The outcome is a test for Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his electoral strategy, while it will also show the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The results will also have a bearing on efforts to forge opposition unity for the 2019 elections and if the Congress will emerge as the natural leader of the anti-BJP front.