A resurgent Congress is giving a tough fight to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh, where the saffron party is seeking a fourth term.
The Congress fought the election without projecting a chief ministerial candidate. Even as the exit polls predicted a clean sweep to the Congress, the BJP is unlikely to leave its hold in the central Indian State.
Vikas Pathak reports from Bhopal.
Here are the live updates
Click here for the latest tally
ECI's figures at 1.33 am shows the Congress winning 107 seats and leading in 7, the BJP winning 101 seats and leading in further 8 seats, followed by the BSP leading in 2 and others in 5 seats.
Former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri loses
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri has lost from Bhojpur Assembly constituency for the second time in a row against BJP Minister and sitting MLA Surendra Patwa. Mr. Patwa, nephew of former Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa, retained the seat by a margin of 29,486 votes. Mr. Pachouri had lost the Assembly election in 2013 too from the same seat.
It's a tiresome see-saw game. At 8.38 p.m., the Congress is back with its two-seat advantage: Congress 113 and BJP 110. The two parties have added two seats each to the winning tally with BJP at 31 and the Congress at 29. One more independent has won, and the Gondwana Gantantra Party is now out of picture.
Congress, BJP lead in equal number of seats
According to information available at the ECI website at 8.21 p.m., the Congress and the BJP are evenly poised with 111 seats (leading+won). Out of the 57 results announced the BJP has won 29 and the Congress 27. And independent has also won. Among others the BSP is leading in 2, the SP in 1, the Gondwana Gantantra Party in 1, and independents in 3
According to information available at the ECI website at 7.25 p.m., it's back to neck-and-neck at Madhya Pradesh. The Congress’ is leading/won in 111 seats, followed by the BJP's 110. Out of the 29 results announced BJP has won 15 and the Congress 13. And independent has also won.
Congress wins first seat
According to information available at the ECI website at 6.06 p.m., the Congress has won its first seat, while leading 112 others. The BJP has won six and is leading in 103 more. Congress candidate Gyarsilal Rawat has won the Sendhwa (ST) seat defeating his nearest rival Anatarsingh Arya by a margin of 15,878 votes.
The nail-biter of an election it is. At 5.58 p.m., the Congress is on the backfoot with 112 seats (all leading), against the BJP's 110 (4 won, 106 leading). This will go down to the wire. The Congress can hope to get the support of the BSP and the SP, which are leading in two seats each. Independents are leading in three, and the Gondvana Gantantra Party in one seat.
At 5.20 p.m. IST, the balance is in favour of the Congress. According to ECI figures, the Congress is leading in 115 seats, followed by the BJP's 106, which includes the one seat won by the party. The BSP tally has gone down to two. Independents have gained one seat to four since the last update. These are only "leading" numbers, with only one seat declared so far.
12 Cabinet Ministers trailing
A dozen Ministers in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh were trailing in the State Assembly polls as per the latest trends, an election official says.
Minister Narottam Mishra is trailing by a margin of 6,200 votes in Datia while Rustam Singh was at the third position in Morena constituency. Balkrishna Patidar is trailing in Khargone by a margin of 3,792 votes, while Lal Singh Arya was lagging behind by 6,552 votes in Gohad seat in Bhind district. Minister Om Prakash Dhurve is trailing by a margin of 8,255 votes in Shahpura seat of Dindori district while Antar Singh Arya was trailing by 3,626 votes in Sendhwa seat of Barwani district. Deepak Joshi is trailing by 3,070 votes in Hatpipliya seat in Dewas district, while Rampal Singh was trailing by 3,063 votes in Silvani seat in Raisen district.
Minister Archana Chitnis os also trailing in Burhanpur seat by a margin of 1,055 votes. State Finance Minister Jayant Mallaiya is trailing by 1,336 votes in Damoh seat. Another Minister, Sharad Jain, is trailing by a margin of 7,958 votes in Jabalpur North seat and Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya by 5,489 votes in Gwalior seat. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s nephew and Morena BJP MP Anoop Mishra, who contested the election on the BJP’s ticket, is trailing from Bhitarwar seat in Gwalior district by 2,255 votes, an election official says.
For the Congress, Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Ajay Singh is also trailing by a margin of 3,032 votes from Churhat seat in Satna district. - PTI
See-saw battle continues between Congress and BJP
In the continuing see-saw battle between the BJP and the Congress, the numbers have once again changed. While the Congress is leading in 114 seats, the BJP is leading in 105 as of 4.10 p.m. The BJP’s tally is now 106 with the party already won one seat. In voting percentage, the BJP is leading by 0.1% with 41.4% against Congress’ 41.3%. The tally for others: The BSP is leading in 4, the SP in 2, the Gondvana Gantantra Party 1 and Independents 3.
Congress is now inches away from a majority, leading in 115 of 230 seats, according to ECI figures. BJP is leading in 105 seats. However, BJP has a higher vote share of 41.3%.
The tussle for upper hand continues BJP leading in 106 seats and Congress in 113 seats.
As votes were counted, Shiv Sena said the outcome of the elections in the five States is a clear message to the BJP and there is a need for the ruling coalition to introspect.
Shiv Sena spokesperson and the party’s Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Raut said the trends reflect that the BJP’s victory chariot has been halted.
“This is a clear message and it is the time for us to introspect,” Raut told reporters in Parliament Complex. - PTI
India will be “BJP Mukt” in the year 2019, the Aam Aadmi Party claimed, as assembly election trends indicated that the saffron party was trailing in two of the three States it ruled.
The Bharatiya Janata Party was behind its main rival Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh; it was locked in a close contest with the opposition party in Madhya Pradesh, according to latest trends.
“2019 will be BJP Mukt Bharat (BJP-free India),” senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh told PTI. “The results of assembly polls indicate that people are fed up with jumla (rhetoric).” - PTI
Results reflect rejection of BJP's politics: Congress
BJP and Congress are engaged in a neck-to-neck combat with BJP leading in 111 and Congress in 108 seats.
Reacting to the result, Congress leaders said that the results are a clear indication that voters have rejected the BJP.
Party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said trends reflect people’s desire for change, while State Congress chief Kamal Nath exuded confidence that they will form the government in the State. Scindia, who spearheaded the Congress campaign in Madhya Pradesh, said he was very confident that the Congress would form the government in the state.
Asked about posters being put up that Kamal Nath would be CM, Scindia said, “Let us not put the cart before the horse. Let us wait for the verdict”. - PTI
Watch: Congress, BJP in close race in Madhya Pradesh
4 Ministers take leads
State Sports Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia is leading in Shivpuri seat by a margin of 10,780 votes.
Women and Child Development Minister Archana Chitnis is leading in Burhanpur, while Agriculture Minister Gaurishankar Chaturbhuj Bisen is ahead in Balaghat.
Revenue Minister Umashankar Gupta is leading in Bhopal South West seat by a slender margin of 249 votes.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is leading in five seats while the Gondvana Gantantra Party is ahead in two seats.
Independents are leading in three seats, while the Samajwadi Party seat and the Bahujan Sanghrush Dal are leading in one seat each. - PTI
9 Ministers trailing
Public Relations and Water Resources Minister Narottam Mishra was trailing by a margin of 3,114 votes from Datia seat while Health Minister Rustam Singh was at the third position in Morena constituency.
Besides, Minister Balkrishna Patidar was trailing in Khargone by a margin of 44 votes, while ‘Happiness Minister’ Lal Singh Arya was lagging behind by a margin 3,039 votes from Gohad seat in Bhind district.
Labour and Civil Supplies Minister Om Prakash Dhurve was at the third place in Shahpura seat of Dindori district while Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Antar Singh Arya was trailing by 3,626 votes in Sendhwa seat in Barwani district.
Skill Development Minister Deepak Joshi was behind by 4,219 votes in Hatpipliya seat in Dewas district, while Education Minister Vijay Shah was also trailing by a margin of 1,304 votes in Harsud seat in Khandwa.
PWD Minister Rampal Singh was trailing by 1,193 votes in Silvani seat in Raisen district.
Former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s nephew Anoop Mishra, who contested the election on the BJP’s ticket, was trailing from Bhitarwar seat in Gwalior district by 502 votes, an election official said.
Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Ajay Singh was trailing in the Churhat seat in Satna district. - PTI
Votes are neck-and-neck
The Congress plugged a nine percentage point gap with the BJP in 2013 to make a keen contest of the 2018 Assembly elections here.
The Congress was ahead in 111 seats and the BJP in 106 seats at about 12.40 pm, with the equations shifting every few minutes.
Both parties were neck-and-neck in terms of vote percentages, with both winning 41-42% of the votes.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan leads by a large margin
In Budhni, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is leading by a margin of 19,293 votes against the Congress’ Arun Subhashchandra.
In an election where Mr. Chouhan was ubiquitous in the campaign, Budhni, his own Assembly constituency, saw him only once — when he went in to file his nomination papers.
Instead, it was his wife, Sadhana Singh Chouhan, often referred to as the power behind the throne, and son Kartikeya, who did the heavy lifting of the campaign. Ms. Chouhan’s influence over her husband is said to be considerable — she has had to face controversies when her name was sought to be linked to the Vyapam scam and appointments of important bureaucrats, as well as being an important factor in access to her husband.
People voted against BJP, says Mamata
“People voted against BJP,” said the West bengal Chief Minister in a statement. “This is the people’s verdict and victory of the people of this country. Victory of democracy and victory against injustice, atrocities, destruction of institutions, misuse of agencies, no work for poor people, farmers, youth, Dalits, SC, ST, OBC, minorities and general caste. Semifinal proves that BJP is nowhere in all the states. This is a real democratic indication of 2019 final match. Ultimately, people are always the ‘man of the match’ of democracy. My congrats to the winners.”
Incidentally, the BJP wrested the lead from the Congress, leading in 110 seats, with the Congress leading in 108 seats.
Scindia on early trends
With trends indicating that the Congress was ahead in the assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states, senior party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said the figures reflected the people’s desire for a change.
According to initial rounds of counting, the Congress was ahead in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan — the three states where the BJP has been in power.
BJP office wears a deserted look
Outside the BJP headquarters in Bhopal on Tuesday.
At the BJP headquarters, no one except for journalists camped at the venue is present. The party workers are yet to arrive.
BJP leads in two seats
Early trends show the BJP leading in two seats as counting of postal ballots gets underway in Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP, which has been ruling the State since 2003, is trying to retain power amid the Congress’s allegations of a collapse of governance and its failure to work for agriculturists. Madhya Pradesh last year witnessed large scale protests by farmers for better Minimum Support Price for their produce and other demands, forcing the government to announce a slew of measures.
Confident we will form govt in MP, says Digvijaya
Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh expressed confidence that his party will form the government in Madhya Pradesh. “It's too early. Anything can be said only after 12 p.m. Leads of only postal ballots have come till now. I am confident that in Madhya Pradesh, Congress will form the government,” he said in an interview with news agency ANI .
Watch | In this MP village, droughts force people to migrate
The state of affairs in Gora village of Bundelkhand region narrate a total different story. A fourth successive drought in the last five years has shattered the people of this region. The situation is such that one can find every second house locked up, as the villagers are now migrating from the vicinity in search of employment opportunities.
Counting begins in 230 seats
Counting has begun in 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh. Postal ballots will be counted first.
Across Madhya Pradesh, one common complaint among farmers is the shortage of cash post-demonetisation.
Their earnings, after selling their produce in authorised markets, are directly transferred to their bank accounts. Of the 230 Assembly seats, rural and semi-rural voters can be a decisive factor in 160.
Will the Congress lose anything without the BSP?
Will the Congress’s failure to strike an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) hurt the grand old party’s prospects in Madhya Pradesh? It’s a question that most political pundits are likely to have in mind.
Going by conventional wisdom, the BSP’s 6.3% vote share and four Assembly seats in the 2013 elections would be expected to translate into a sizeable dip in Dalit votes for the Congress in the Chambal belt and the Satna-Rewa region, where the BSP has had a fair following.
Rural voters hold the key
Livelihood and opportunity: these are the buzz words of the Madhya Pradesh elections this time.
There is a palpable anti-incumbency mood among farmers across large swathes of the State, which makes this election more challenging for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan than the previous ones.
As much as 72% of the State’s population live in villages, meaning rural voters can be a decisive influence on the polls.
More than an electoral battle for BJP’s lone Muslim candidate
Fatima Rasool Siddique is the BJP candidate for the Bhopal (North) Assembly seat, earlier held by her father, Rasool Siddique, who as two-time Minister in the 1980s and 1990s was a true-blue Congress leader and a friend of the late Madhavrao Scindia. She is the only Muslim candidate put up by the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.
Factionalism a thing of the past, says Scindia
Asserting that factionalism in the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress party is a “thing of the past”, senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Sunday the entire state leadership worked as a “united front” during the assembly polls in a bid to dislodge the BJP government.
Mr. Scindia, who spearheaded an energetic and spirited campaign for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, said there is an “uprising for change” in the state.
