As Madhya Pradesh goes to polls today, the Bharatiya Janata Party is determined for another term in the state. After months of campaigning in the state and presenting an all inclusive manifesto, BJP looks all set to hit the bulls-eye once again.
There are a lot of factors in favor of the party that can ensure them of another stint in the state. Indian National Congress due to its lackadaisical approach towards development during their tenure in the state has culminated in repeated failures and mass rejection in the state. During the stint of Congress veteran Digvijay Singh, the state touched a new low.
Madhya Pradesh was considered to be ‘bimaru state’ during Singh’s reign. It was then the Bharatiya Janata Party, under the able leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan that worked religiously towards getting rid of the tag.
The farmers of Madhya Pradesh haven’t forgotten the fusillade of January 12, 1998 at Multai Tehsil in Baitul district wherein 24 farmers were killed and 250 cases on 67 farmers were registered after which Congress couldn’t come to power in the state. This whole incident took place under the directions of Digvijay Singh.
Chouhan has very well delivered on basic amenities such as electricity, road, water, housing etc. Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) the state has built 11 lakh houses in rural areas in three years, the highest in the country. Senior leaders have said there was “excellent ground level feedback” coming from the people benefiting from the scheme.
Central government schemes pushed by Prime Minister Modi on housing, cooking gas, electricity and Mudra loans, have created goodwill which will directly benefit Chouhan in the elections. The internal matrix of the BJP is much stronger than that of the Congress party which is dwindling due to the on-going fight between Kamalnath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijay Singh.
Looking at the past records, factionalism has resulted in Congress’ consecutive loss in Madhya Pradesh. To overcome this Congress President Rahul Gandhi appointed Kamal Nath as the party chief and Jyotiraditya Scindia as the campaign committee chief and sent Digvijay Singh on Narmada Tour and is not disclosing its Chief Ministerial face.
The reason for keeping Digvijay Singh out of the electoral campaigns is because the Congress fears that if they sent him out for campaigning, people would start questioning him on his tenure as the Chief Minister. Prime Minister Modi while addressing a rally in the state indirectly hit out at Singh as he said, “If that leader campaigns, then the party will be defeated as people will remember how the state of Madhya Pradesh was during their tenure.”
The other factor that has brought the BJP in the driving seat is its formidable organizational apparatus that has tirelessly been working at all the levels. The conjoined efforts of RSS will also prove beneficial for the party since it is dedicatedly working not only in rural areas but in the tribal areas too; this resulted in BJP winning 31 out of the 47 seats reserved for the trials’ in 2013 assembly elections.
In 2013 rural population came out in large numbers to vote for BJP as it won 125 seats from 164 seats from rural areas whereas Congress could only manage 55 seats, it clearly shows Chouhan’s popularity in the rural areas.
Women will also prove to be a crucial factor in BJP’s victory in these elections, as Shivraj Singh Chouhan has introduced various women-centric schemes that have benefited women at large. Women from Muslim community have also come out in large numbers and have shown their trust on Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
It looks like the Bharatiya Janata Party is firmly marching towards another emphatic victory in the state and 11th December is the date, when Congress will blame every external factor imaginable, to try and justify its well-earned defeat in the state elections.
