While Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is confident that BJP will win 200-plus seats in next assembly polls, the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has claimed that 160-plus seats will be won by the party. Vijayvargiya’s claims came just hours before union home minister Amit Shah asked party’s booth level workers in Indore on July 30, to work for an assembly poll win which shatters all previous poll triumph records. Importantly, BJP’s best performance in MP assembly polls so far had perhaps happened in 2003 polls when led by Uma Bharti, the party had swept polls winning 173 seats, against Congress’s 38.
BJP’s new panel to screen candidates
Knowing well that crossovers of leaders of other political parties will increase as the assembly polls draw closer, the BJP’s new joining committee headed by home minister Narottam Mishra, has been asked by party leadership to carefully check the criminal and political past of various non-BJP leaders, before allowing them to join the party. As per party insiders, the BJP higher ups, possibly realizing that groupism has been growing in the party, after arrival of non-BJP or core Congress leaders (including Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists) in 2020, has decided to be very strict while allowing leaders from other parties to join the saffron party.
Cong confident of taking 50-60% BJP bastions
Having tasked former CM and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh for rebuilding the party and boosting its electoral prospects on the 66 seats, which for long have been BJP bastions, the Congress is now eyeing to win 30-35 of those seats. As per party insiders, the work being done by Singh on the 66 seats, growing internal tussle within the BJP and rising anti-incumbency against the present government, have raised the possibility of Congress making inroads into BJP citadels. A leader from Singh’s camp said that ex-CM is confident Cong may win 30-35 of those 66 BJP seats.
Anuraag Singh
Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh
singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com