Bhopal: Battle lines have been drawn after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election dates and a tough fight seems to be on the cards in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
While BJP is banking on the wave of nationalism in the country leading from the February 26 IAF airstrikes, the ruling Congress party in the state is hopeful that its farm loan waiver and OBC quota announcement will help them improve their tally this time around.
Amidst a robust Modi wave in 2014, the BJP had almost cleaned up Congress by winning 27 out of 29 seats. The Congress, however, managed to win the Jhabua-Ratlam seat in the 2015 bypolls.
After the resurgent Congress edged out the BJP in assembly polls, albeit with the thinnest margin ever of around 0.1% votes, the Lok Sabha seems another seesaw battle between the mainstream rivals.
The saffron party is still heavily relying on Narendra Modi’s ‘strong PM’ image, which became all the more salient since the February 26 IAF air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot.
The BJP is also expecting to reap the benefits of wing commander Abhinandan’s much-hyped release from Pakistan, PM Awas Yojana (Housing) scheme, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and other welfare measures unleashed by the Centre in the last five years.
Meanwhile, Congress is likely to fall back on the 80-day achievements of the Kamal Nath government, which include farm loan waiver and the OBC quota hike from 13 to 27%.
The Congress is also hoping to pull its weight through the anti-incumbency wave against the BJP Member of Parliaments by leveling criticism against the party over its alleged failure to deliver on promises.
“It’s now for the public to see who kept his words and who cheated them through lies and deceit,” Nath said on Sunday.
Despite a dismal past record, CM Kamal Nath has exuded the confidence of winning 25 plus seats in the upcoming polls while the BJP chief Amit Shah in a chest-thumping speech recently exhorted his workers to win all the 29 seats in MP.
When asked about Congress’ strategy for upcoming polls on Sunday, Nath had said, “We would go to the public with the work of the 80-day government and would urge the public to evaluate it against PM Modi’s five year and BJP’s 15 years in MP.”
“It’s time to uproot the Modi government of jumlas and fake promises. We need Congress back to power for putting the country into the path of growth and development,” he said.
BJP leader and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday, however, claimed that the party expects public support on PM Modi’s welfare and developmental schemes. “The public has now understood that it is PM Modi who could keep the nation safe,” Chouhan added.
He reiterated his party’s hopes of winning all 29 seats.
As the last two decades have shown, either camp stand a chance to clinch power in the state. In 2004, the BJP had swept the LS polls winning 25 seats. Five years later, in 2009 the Congress regained its footing by winning 12 seats.
Then in 2014, the Modi wave helped the saffron party successfully overthrow the Congress by a whopping majority of 27 seats.
The contest will prove to be an interesting one this time around since many stalwarts might be seen missing from action. Union ministers Uma Bharti and Sushma Swaraj have already declined to contest in the polls citing health issues.
CM Kamal Nath has announced to contest an assembly by-poll from Chhindwara and his elder son Nakul is expected to start his political journey from his Lok Sabha seats.
Over 5.14 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh would be sealing the fate of candidates in all the 29 seats that go to polls in four phases –April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19.
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