Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, two of the states out of five poll bound states are up for voting today .
Madhya Pradesh will vote in only one phase that will take place today while, for Chhattisgarh it will be it’s second phase of voting. The first phase took place on November 7.
In Budhni constituency of Madhya Pradesh, from where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting, the EVM (electronic voting machine) at the polling booth malfunctioned. Voters were standing in queue to vote as they waited to exercise their franchise.
Chhattisgarh is the state where Indian National Congress aiming for a confirmed win in this round of elections. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who led the state on the path of progress aims to win 75 out of 90 state’s assembly seats.
Madhya Pradesh which is up for voting on 230 seats today has generated higher interest among people as in 2020 the government led by Kamal Nath collapsed after 22 loyalists’ walkover including Jyotiraditya Scindia had placed back the BJP led government back in power. Now both the Congress and BJP are out for elections to prove that they are people’s choice.
BJP’s most popular Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in MP has not been projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate by the BJP this time rather, the party has campaigned under the banner of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Apart from this, the BJP has fielded seven MPs including Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Pralhad Patel. Although Jyotiraditya Scindia is not contesting this time but his loyalists are expected to create a significant impact on power balance this time.
While many feel that the party is aiming to go for a new face for the top post this time but many others stress upon the trouble the party can face if they replace Mr Chouhan as the chief ministerial candidate.
The BJP has its main focus on Gwalior-Chambal and Mahakoshal regions throughout its campaign as the region accounts for 72 out of total 230 state’s assembly seats
In Chhatisgarh, the second phase of election has many popular faces contesting — Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, his deputy TS Singh Deo, four members of parliament and eight state members.
The entries of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party has multi-cornered the old tradition of tussle between BJP and Congress in these states.
The vote counting for all the five states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will take place together on 3 December.
