Assembly elections: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced the schedule of upcoming Assembly elections in five states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram. According to the poll body, the counting of votes in all five states will take place on December 3. The elections in these states especially in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - the Hindi heartland of India - will set the tone for the mega poll battle in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Schedule for the elections
- Mizoram: November 7
- Chhattisgarh: November 7 and 17
- Madhya Pradesh: November 17
- Rajasthan: November 23
- Telangana: November 30
There is an interesting direct and neck-and-neck fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The results of this election will provide an advantage to the winning side. In a way, the elections are a semifinal ahead of the General Elections 2024.
What did the Chief Election Commissioner say about the Assembly polls?
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar emphasised that voter information slips should be distributed at least a week before the election date. In preparation for the upcoming elections, Kumar announced the establishment of over 940 checkposts.
There will be 17,734 model polling stations, 621 polling stations will be managed by staff with disabilities (PwD), and 8,192 polling stations will be under the command of women, he added.
The CEC appealed to voters, particularly women, youth, and urban residents, to actively participate in the upcoming elections and exercise their right to vote.
The CEC announced that around 60 lakh first-time voters (18-19 Years) to participate in elections in these five states.
As far as the performance of political parties in all these poll-bound states, the Congress party is leading governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while the BJP rules Madhya Pradesh where Congress emerged as the single largest party in 2018 and Kamal Nath became the Chief Minister but a revolt led by then Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia caused the collapse of the government and subsequently, the saffron party wrested the power from the 'Grand Old Party'. KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is in power in Telangana which registered a thumping victory in 2018 by winning 88 seats out of the total 119 in the state. The Mizo National Front (MNF) led by Zoramathanga is ruling Mizoram.
Here are the statewide results in the last elections in these five states.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2018
The political landscape remained closely contested as the Congress party secured 114 seats, just shy of the majority mark of 116 in the 230-seat Assembly in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP closely followed with 109 seats. Other players included the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 2 seats, the Samajwadi Party (SP) with 1 seat, and 4 seats won by Independent candidates.The Congress secured 40.89% of the votes, while the BJP garnered 41.02%. The BSP held 5.01% of the vote share, the SP received 1.30%, and Independents accounted for 5.82% of the total votes.
Rajasthan Assembly Election 2018
Congress became the single largest party, closely approaching the majority mark of 101 in the 200-seat Assembly in Rajasthan in 2018. The BJP trailed with 73 seats, while the BSP managed to capture 6 seats. Other parties included the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) with 3 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with 2 seats, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) with 2 seats, and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) with 1 seat. Additionally, 13 seats were won by Independent candidates.
The Congress bagged 39.30% of the votes, closely followed by the BJP with 38.77%. The BSP held a 4.03% share of the vote, while the RLP secured 2.40%. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) received 1.22% of the vote share, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) had 0.72%, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) had 0.33%, and Independents collectively accounted for 9.47% of the total votes.
Also read: Rajasthan election date: Polling to take place on November 23, results on December 3
Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2018
The Congress won the election by bagging 68 seats out of the total 90 seats, comfortably surpassing the majority mark of 46. The BJP, on the other hand, managed to secure only 15 seats. The JCC (Janata Congress Chhattisgarh) led by Ajit Jogi won 5 seats, while the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) secured 2 seats. There were no independent candidates who won seats in this election.
In terms of vote share, the Congress received 43.04% of the votes, while the BJP secured 32.97%. The JCC garnered a vote share of 7.61%, and the BSP received 3.87%. Independent candidates collectively accounted for 5.88% of the vote share.
Telangana Assembly Election 2018
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS now with a new name- BRS - Bharat Rashtra Samithi) secured a resounding victory with 88 seats out of the total 119, comfortably surpassing the majority mark of 60. The Congress managed to secure 19 seats, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 7 seats. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) secured 2 seats, the BJP won 1 seat, and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) secured 1 seat.
The TRS (now BRS) got 46.87% of the votes, making it the most favoured party among voters. The Congress secured 28.43% of the votes, while the AIMIM garnered 2.71%. The TDP received 3.51% of the vote share, the BJP secured 6.98%, and the AIFB received 0.77%. Independent candidates collectively accounted for 3.25% of the vote share.
Mizoram Assembly Election 2018
The Mizo National Front (MNF) emerged as the clear winner by securing 27 out of the total 40 seats, comfortably crossing the majority threshold of 21 seats. The Congress won 4 seats, while the BJP managed to secure 1 seat. Interestingly, Independent candidates won 8 seats in the Assembly.
The MNF received 37.70% of the votes, making it the dominant choice among voters. The Congress secured 29.98% of the vote share, while the BJP received 8.09%. Independent candidates collectively accounted for a significant portion of the vote share at 22.94%.
