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Madhya Pradesh bypolls will set the tone for upcoming Assembly elections in November 2018

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Rahul Noronha
Rahul NoronhaOct 23, 2017 | 10:42

Madhya Pradesh bypolls will set the tone for upcoming Assembly elections in November 2018

The coming months in Madhya Pradesh would be marked by a series of high profile Assembly by-elections which would not only pit chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan against the challenge emanating from the Congress, but would also set the tone for the upcoming Assembly general elections due in November 2018.

With the passing away of Ram Singh Yadav, Congress MLA from Kolaras in Shivpuri district on Wednesday, a total of three Assembly by-elections are due in MP in the coming months. The ECI has already announced the schedule for the by-elections at Chitrakoot where voting will be held on November 9. The schedule for the by-elections at Mungaoli and Kolaras are yet to be announced.

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Photo: Press Trust of India

Besides Chouhan, for whom the election results would be indicative of his hold on the state, the outcome in Mungaoli and Kolaras would be crucial for Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia who has emerged as the principal challenger to Chouhan. Both Assembly segments lie within Guna Lok Sabha seat and they would be more than a prestige contest for Scindia. Not only were late Mahendra Singh Kalukheda, MLA from Mungaoli, and Ram Singh Yadav from Kolaras staunch Scindia loyalists, the outcome of the by-polls would give Congressmen an idea of Scindia’s battle readiness for the bigger fight due late next year.

The stakes have already been raised by both Congress and BJP which was evident in the transfer of a college principal ordered by the state government after he asked Scindia to contribute to the development of the college he headed in Mungaoli. Chouhan who doesn’t even take the smallest elections lightly has already started touring Mungaoli and so have a number of state ministers. It is evident that the ruling party will push in all its muscle to wrest Mungaoli and Kolaras from the Congress.

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Photo: Press Trust of India

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Chouhan and Scindia had a faceoff recently at the Ater by-polls which was retained by the Congress by a small margin. If its Scindia in Mungaoli and Kolaras, it is leader of Opposition Ajay Singh for whom the Chitrakoot by-election is crucial. Prem Singh, the Congress MLA whose death necessitated the poll, was a staunch loyalist of late Arjun Singh whose son Ajay is now leader of Opposition.

Chouhan will attempt to turn it into a contest of him versus the Congress candidate at the Assembly segments irrespective of who the BJP candidates are. He would also bombard the seats with promises of development as he has done in other by-elections with favourable results. The Congress in contrast would make an emotional appeal with voters while also raking up corruption at the ground level and general maladministration.

If the Congress were to lose the polls, it would use the fig leaf of the government using its machinery to help the ruling party win the elections. However, if the BJP loses, November 2018 promises to a close battle.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)

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Last updated: October 23, 2017 | 10:42
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