MP: Shah ‘unhappy’ over dip in voting in 1st phase

Bhopal: Union home minister Amit Shah late on Thursday night reviewed poll preparations by BJP here in the wake of dip in polling percentage in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, held in Madhya Pradesh on April 19.

Mr Shah who arrived here at around 11.45 pm on Thursday reportedly expressed his displeasure to the state BJP leadership over decrease in polling percentage in the first phase of elections in the state.

Six Lok Sabha constituencies in MP had gone to polls in the first phase of elections on April 19.

The average voting recorded in the first phase polling in the state was 7.32 percent less than that of the average polling in these seats in the 2019 LS polls.

Mr Shah held discussions with chief minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president V D Sharma, state organising secretary of the party Hitanand Sharma, party in-charge of LS polls in MP Dr Mohan Singh and the co-in-charge Satish Upadhyaya to take stock of poll preparations by BJP.

He also talked to several other BJP leaders on phone, sources said.

Sources said that Mr Shah told the state party leadership that the party MLAs were not as active as they should be in their respective areas and said that they needed to pull up their shocks.

Sources said that the party MLAs were not found to be as active as they were during the November, 2023 Assembly elections in the state.

Sources said that Mr Shah sought to send a strong message to the party MLAs that their report cards would be prepared based on the results of the LS elections and their political future would depend on it.