Congress hopes to cash in on anti-incumbency, guarantees in MP

Bhopal: The ruling BJP has banked on the developmental works as well as the welfare measures undertaken in Madhya Pradesh during the18-year-rule of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to sail through the November 17 assembly elections in the state.

The Congress however is set to replay its Karnataka strategy, guaranteeing the voters a series of freebies, besides sharpening the anti-incumbency by harping on the alleged corruptions in the Shivraj government, to stage a comeback in the ensuing assembly polls in the state.

“We will showcase the developmental works and the welfare measures undertaken by the state government in the ensuing assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh”, state BJP president V D Sharma said on Monday.

Mr Sharma flaunted the organisational prowess of his party, saying that ‘BJP works 365 days, 24 hours’ and added that his party has stolen a march over its rival party, Congress, by making early preparations for the elections.

The party has completed its first round of campaigning by undertaking a 21-day “Jan Ashirwad Yatra” to reach out to the people across the 230 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh.

Besides, the party has announced candidates in 136 assembly seats in four phases so far, he added.

Sources said the party had planned an ‘overdose’ of welfare measures to counter the anti-incumbency, a natural fallout of the party remaining in power in the state for 18 years, by announcing largesse for students, unemployed youths, women and even scribes in the state.

The party hopes that the ‘Laldli Behna’ scheme launched by the state government will be a game changer in the polls, harvesting women votes for the party.

Around 1.36 crore of the total 2.40 crore women voters in the state have been given financial assistance of Rs 1,250 every month under the scheme.

Congress seems to have geared up to implement its ‘tested’ Karnataka strategy in the year-end MP elections by announcing several freebies for all sections of people, besides ‘hyping’ the alleged corruption in the Shivraj government.

Besides, Congress is also going to make the collapse of 15-month-old Kamal Nath government owing to ‘machinations’ by BJP a major issue in the elections.

“People will teach the murderer of democracy in this poll and return Congress to power in the state”, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said on Monday.

Congress has also completed its first round of campaign by undertaking a 15-day-'Jan Akrosh Yatra' in the state.

In 2018 assembly polls, Congress had emerged the single largest party by securing 114 out of 230 seats and formed the government with the help of Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and independents.

BJP had bagged 109 seats then.

But, the Kamal Nath government collapsed in March 2020 when 22 Congress MLAs resigned from the party.