Congress Will Win MP With Over 150 Seats: Arun Yadav

Hyderabad: The public mood is strongly set against the incumbent BJP government led by Chief Minister Shivaraj Singh in Madhya Pradesh and the Congress will win a big mandate from the people in the Assembly elections later this year, said ex-PCC president and former Union minister of state Arun Subhashchandra Yadav.

Speaking exclusively to Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday while on a private trip to the city here, Arun Yadav, a former MP from Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, said the resurgence of the Congress is palpable not only in his home state but also across the country.

“The change in mood was set in motion by the huge success and impact of the Bharat Jodo Yatra by Rahul Gandhi. The growing impatience of the people against the BJP government, for the vast difference between its promises and words and its actual performance and delivery, is widely felt,” he said.

“Price rise, lack of jobs, rising unemployment, increasing difficulty of SMEs and small businesses to sustain themselves, and the growing agrarian angst have all led to the growth in unpopularity of the BJP government both at the Centre and in different states,” Arun Yadav said.

When asked if they would use the same Karnataka campaign model in MP, Arun Yadav said, “The Karnataka campaign does not work in MP because, in Bengaluru our party spoke of the 40 per cent commission Sarkar – but in Bhopal, the commission is 50 per cent.”

Besides the sense of betrayal felt by the people that despite them voting for the Congress in 2018, the BJP had pulled some MLAs away and formed a government, they are also upset with the BJP for its all-round failure, he said.

On Telangana, Arun Yadav said, “I have discussed the situation here with our party colleagues and I can feel that they are all very energised after the Karnataka elections. I am also told that the BJP has dramatically collapsed here, leading to a straight fight between the BRS and the Congress, which we most likely are going to win.”

Arun Yadav said that contrary to the BJP’s assertions, it was the Congress that had worked to truly empower the Dalits, STs and OBCs, besides the minorities, and added, “Our track record speaks for itself.”

On the issue of Chief Ministership in MP after the next polls, he said that all the Congress leaders there were united. While he was the OBC face of the party, given the strength of the party, the decision would be taken by the high command after the party registered a win, he said.