Madhya Pradesh election 2023: ‘Hindutva’ plank takes centre stage in BJP stronghold; Cong hopes to gain ground
MP has been the bastion of the BJP since 2003, except for a 15-month interregnum between 2018 and 2020 when Congress leader Kamal Nath was the CM.
Madhya Pradesh has been the bastion of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2003, except for a 15-month interregnum between December 2018 and March 2020 when Congress leader Kamal Nath was the chief minister. The party is making all-out attempt to retain the state, which goes to polls next month, with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan -- who has been in charge since 2005, except for the 15-months mentioned above -- announcing a slew of social welfare schemes including monthly allowance of ₹1,500 to every woman of the state, a cooking gas cylinder for ₹450 every month and interest free loans to farmers who repay loans on time. The pre-poll measures announced this fiscal alone, are worth ₹80,000 crore, according to a state finance department estimate.
The Election Commission of India announced dates for single phase election in Madhya Pradesh on November 17.
Also read: Pan-India caste census in Congress’s Lok Sabha election pitch
The BJP has thus far announced candidates for 136 of the state’s 230 assembly constituencies across four lists, fielding three union ministers, agriculture minister and four-time MP Narendra Singh Tomar from Dimani, Jal Shakti minister and eight-time MP Prahlad Patel from Narsinghpur and steel minister Faggan Singh Kulaste from Niwas and four other members of Parliament.
“It appears the BJP is putting its best foot forward for MP elections,” said political expert Girija Shankar. He added putting up central ministers in state elections has also opened the list of probable contenders for the CM’s post. “This has weakened the position of the CM who has been face of the party since 2007.” Chouhan will contest from Budni, the fourth list announced, and the party gave tickets to most of ministers in his Cabinet.
Chouhan has, taking a leaf out of the BJP’s national strategy, sought to build a base on the back of Hindutva and welfarism. The state government has developed Mahakal Lok in Ujjain and Lord Ram tourist route in Bundelkhand, apart from building 108 feet tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar town at the cost of ₹2,200 crore.
But the Congress, under Kamal Nath, has also pursued soft Hindutva, with the party calling itself a party of “true Hindus”. And to counter the social welfare schemes of Chouhan, the Congress has made five guarantees --- restoration of old pension scheme, cooking gas cylinder for ₹500, ₹1,500 per month for women, free electricity up to 100 units and 50% subsidy for power bill up to 200 units, and resumption of the farm loan waiver scheme announced in 2018 . It has also promised conduct a caste census if voted into power.
The Congress has already announced Kamal Nath as its chief ministerial candidate. It has also made corruption a majorissue, alleging 50% commission in government work. Both the guarantees and the focus on corrpution are from the template the party used succesfully to unseat the BJP in Karnataka earlier this year.
The BJP has sought to highlight the alleged mismanagement of the state by the Congress which was in power in Madhya Pradesh for 50 years and emphasized the work done by the Central government . The BJP has also alleged that the Congress is “anti-Hindu” and targeted the newly formed INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc for attacking Sanatam Dharma in wake of DMK minister Udhaynidhi Stalin’s statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the state nine times since January this year and accused the Congress for making Madhya Pradesh a Bimaru state -- a term coined by demographer Ashish Bose in the 1980s to refer to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, then India’s poorest state -- and credited the BJP for developing Madhya Pradesh. He promised that MP would be among top three states in the country by 2030 if the BJP comes back to power.
Reacting to the poll announcement, BJP state president VD Sharma said in the next one month, more than four million BJP workers will make voters aware about populist schemes of BJP’s central and state government and ensure win on 64,523 booths. “We will come back again on December 3 to share success.”
State Congress president Kamal Nath said the MP was waiting for announcement of elections for long. “We are ready for the election. I request the Congress workers and people of the state to prepare for the elections keeping in mind development and the future of Madhya Pradesh and pave the way for the creation of a new Madhya Pradesh. They have one month from now to teach a lesson to those who hijacked democracy and we will restore the rule of truth,” he said.
Political expert Dinesh Gupta said about a month for polls will push the political parties especially the opposition Congress, which is yet to announce its candidate. “In previous elections, the political parties got at least 45 days to campaign but this time they are getting only 35 days. The BJP’s strategy of announcing candidates two months ago seems to have mounted the pressure on the opposition parties. I see an intense political fight in coming days,” he said.