New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday said that the party’s poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh will focus on the leadership crisis in the state BJP and alleged that the Central leadership of the saffron party had lost confidence in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “The Central leadership of the BJP seems to have lost its confidence in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The ruling party is not projecting him as the Chief Ministerial face, but is saying that it will decide on the Chief Minister issue after the polls. Chouhan is a four-term Chief Minister, but is facing a leadership issue. The BJP has sensed its defeat in the forthcoming Assembly polls. Therefore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken charge of the state poll campaign and has been making frequent visits to Madhya Pradesh,” AICC secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Shiv Bhatia told ETV Bharat.
“The Congress poll campaign will focus majorly on the contrast between the ruling and the opposition parties in the state. The BJP is facing a leadership crisis while the Congress is running an aggressive campaign led by former Chief Minister and State unit chief Kamal Nath. Our slogan would be Kamal Nath vs who?” he said.
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The AICC functionary claimed that the state BJP was suffering from an exodus of party leaders, who were joining the Congress. “The BJP leaders have sensed that a Congress tsunami is going to hit the ruling party. The induction of three new ministers recently only shows that the state BJP is desperate to convince its dissenters. The people know that a new minister can’t do anything in a month. By next month, the election dates might be announced by the poll panel. The new inductions in the Cabinet are an attempt to fool the voters, but this will not help the ruling party,” said Bhatia.
The AICC functionary said that the Congress had lost its government in 2020 as senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP. “Scindia’s joining the BJP led to the fall of the Kamal Nath government, but Priyanka Gandhi’s massive rally in Gwalior on July 21 showed that the people are with Congress. Many of Scindia’s supporters joined the Congress recently and more will come. The people will ensure a Congress victory with over 150 seats,” said Bhatia.
According to the AICC functionary, besides the leadership issue, the Congress campaign is focusing on its social welfare guarantees, corruption in the State government and atrocities against Dalits. “The Chouhan government did not deliver over the past three years and indulged in corruption. In fact, he did little work over the past 18 years and the voters are asking questions now. There is a scam in the installation of idols of Gods at the Lord Shiv Temple Complex Ujjain, there is a scam in the recruitment of Patwaris, there is a scam in the recruitment of nurses, among others,” said Bhatia. “The cases of atrocities against Dalits are rampant. The farmers are not getting their due. The youth don’t have jobs and there are law and order issues like the safety of women,” he said.