As the dates for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections have been announced, Congress' state unit chief Kamal Nath said that the party would announce its candidates after the 'Pitru-Paksha'. It's the period during which Hindus pay homage to their ancestors. Started on September 29, the 'Pitru-Paksha' will end on October 14 this year.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that the party would release the candidates' list after "Shraadh" --another term for Pitru Paksha. "The people of Madhya Pradesh have decided to oust the BJP government," he added.
BJP announced 136 candidates so far
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already announced candidates for 136 out of 230 assembly constituencies in the state. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest from his traditional Budhni seat. Meanwhile, State Home Minister Narottam Mishra will fight from the Datia seat.
Earlier on October 7. the Congress' central election committee held deliberations on probable candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls and also decided that the party's main agenda would be the conduct of a caste survey in the state. The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal and general secretary in charge of the state Randeep Surjewala, state party chief Kamal Nath.
Kamal Nath likely to be CM face again
According to sources, the committee also zeroed in the names of candidates for about 103 seats. The party is likely to announce the names of around 150 candidates in the first list. Congress is likely to once again bet on the name of former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, who may contest elections from Chhindwara.
According to sources, this time Congress has so far conducted five surveys on every seat in the state, and candidates will be selected on the basis of the survey only. There are about four dozen such seats in the state which the party has been losing continuously. This time special attention is being given to these seats, and the names of candidates on such seats can be announced in the first list, they added.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections
The election to the 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to be held on November 17, while counting of votes will take place on December 3.
In the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress had won 114 seats, while the BJP got 109.
However, the Congress government fell after many MLAs under the leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who later became a Union minister, joined the BJP. The BJP returned to power in March 2020 with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister for a fresh term. The BJP's current strength in the assembly is 127.
(With inputs from PTI)
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