New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has deployed four senior leaders as special observers in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh to push the party’s prospects in the 66 assembly seats the grand old party has been losing for years. According to party insiders, Kharge has deployed seniors like former Delhi unit chief Subash Chopra, former Gujarat unit chief Arjun Modhwadia, former Himachal Pradesh unit chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore and Pradeep Tamta of Uttarakhand to survey the 66 assembly seats to strengthen the party in those districts and identify potential candidates.
“These are the seats we have not been able to win for the past three elections. Obviously, there are some problems there. The visit of these senior leaders will boost the local workers, provide feedback to the AICC on the corrective steps to be taken, and also will help the high command identify potential candidates,” said an AICC functionary.
“The idea is to win more than half of these difficult seats. If we can do that, the target of 150 seats given by Rahul Gandhi will be easily met,” he said. The simple majority needed to form a government in Madhya Pradesh is 116 seats in a House of 230 seats.
In 2018, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party with 114 seats and managed to form a government with the support of smaller parties and some independents. The BJP had 104 seats. However, in 2020 senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP and caused the fall of the Kamal Nath government as over 20 MLAs voted against the Congress in a trust vote under the influence of the former royal of Gwalior.
“This time, Rahul Gandhi has set a target of 150 seats so the Congress forms a government with a comfortable majority and the BJP does not get an opportunity to poach our leaders. We are confident of sweeping the coming polls,” AICC in-charge JP Agarwal told ETV Bharat.
“The BJP government did nothing for the state and there is a wave of anger against the ruling party,” he said. The Congress' confidence also stems from a few recent surveys done by the RSS, which predicts the BJP may not be able to retain Madhya Pradesh and is likely to get around 55-60 seats only.
“These are not our surveys, but reportedly done by the RSS. Naturally, the BJP is a worried lot. We are already publicising the survey through social media to spread the message,” senior MP Congress leader Shobha Oza told ETV Bharat. Though the Congress had thought that post-Scindia the grand old party would face a tough time in the Gwalior-Chambal area where the influence of the former royal family counts, the local body polls in that zone had been favourable for the grand old party.
“We are now confident of doing well in the Gwalior-Chambal zone. Besides, state unit chief Kamal Nath and other senior leaders are travelling across the state to mobilise the party workers and voters. The Congress is united in Madhya Pradesh and this will pay us dividends in the coming polls,” Oza added.
