Hyderabad:Counting of votes is underway in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections 2024 in less than six months.
The Congress, which is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and the BJP, which is ruling Madhya Pradesh, are locked in a straight fight in these three states, while K Chandrashekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is hoping for a hat-trick in Telangana. Pollsters have been divided on the outcome, with quite a few exit polls putting the BJP ahead in Madhya Pradesh and giving it an edge in Rajasthan while predicting that Congress has an advantage in Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
Starting with postal ballots, counting will commence at 8 am amid tight security for 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 90 seats in Chhattisgarh, 119 seats in Telangana and 199 seats in Rajasthan as polling on one seat in the desert state was put off due to the death of a candidate. In Mizoram, counting will be held on Monday. A three-tier security arrangement has been put in place and only people holding valid passes will be allowed to enter the counting centres, election officials said.
After wresting Karnataka from the BJP in May, the Congress is eyeing Madhya Pradesh and Telangana and is hoping to retain power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. An impressive performance in these polls will boost the party's standing in the opposition INDIA alliance which has been formed to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP is seeking to replicate the winning streak of Gujarat, where it has been ruling since 1998, in Madhya Pradesh with four-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoping to form government again. The party is also keen to win back Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh as it seeks to regain its hold in the Hindi heartland states ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
"The face of the Congress has been exposed. Only the results are to come tomorrow. The good governance that the public wanted will be found under the BJP government," Union minister Anurag Thakur said in Jaipur, adding that the people want the "double-engine" government of the BJP. Congress leaders claimed that the party will win in all four states.
"I am certain that we (Congress) will form a government in four states, including Rajasthan, and in Mizoram, a combined government will be established," Congress leader Promod Tiwari said on the eve of counting of votes. With several pollsters predicting a close fight, there were reports claiming that parties have decided to herd their winning candidates swiftly to prevent any poaching and were also reaching out to independents, rebel candidates and smaller parties.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, however, dismissed reports that he has been asked to bring winning Congress candidates from the states to resorts and hotels in Karnataka. "No MLAs will be going anywhere. Nobody has given me a responsibility or called me. ... I am confident that we will win all the states," Shivakumar, who had made similar arrangements to bring 44 Gujarat legislators during the August 2017 Rajya Sabha elections, told reporters in Bengaluru. Congress leaders in Telangana alleged that the BRS was trying to approach its candidates.
Madhya Pradesh
The counting for 230 assembly seats in MP will be held at 52 district headquarters, officials said. As many as 2,533 candidates are in the fray, including political bigwigs like Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his predecessor and rival Kamal Nath, in a poll that was largely a bipolar battle between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
Chouhan claimed his party would retain power with a huge majority, while state Congress chief Kamal Nath said he had complete confidence in the voters of the state. Of the 230 seats, 47 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 35 for Scheduled Castes. Besides CM Chouhan (from Budhni seat) and state Congress president Nath (Chhindwara), the EVMs will also decide the fate of three BJP Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste.