Revision as of 05:28, 22 January 2018

2017, civic polls

Ankur Sirothia, BJP wins 25; farmer agitation had no impact, says CM, August 17, 2017: The Times of India

BHOPAL: BJP retained 25 seats in the urban and local body elections, whose results were announced on Wednesday. Congress won 15, increasing its tally but at the cost of Independents rather than the ruling party. Three went into Independents.

The scoreline is crucial, coming in the backdrop of the farmer agitation and the death of five farmers in police firing less than eight weeks ahead of the election. While BJP came out unscathed, Congress seemed enthused by its gain in seats, though it lost Dabra, in Jyotiraditya Scindia's pocket borough, by a whopping 10,000 votes. In an interview to TOI, when counting was on, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had confidently said BJP will win 26. "I am yet to take an update but we will retain 26 seats," he said, ruling out the possibility of the farmers' agitation having any impact on the polls. "There is no impact of farmers' agitation since it was led by a handful of Congress workers who tried to spread unrest," said Chouhan.

In the 2012 election, where 37 seats were for the taking, BJP had won 25 with six each going to Congress and Independent candidates, said the state election commission.

Voting was high in a number of seats due to Right to Recall in Gadarwara and Shamshabad by-elections — it's a process by which a majority of corporators can approach a collector with no-confidence motion in the existing president of a council. Initially, Right to Recall was proposed in four districts — Kurawar, Shamshabad, Sabalgarh and Gadarwara and byelections. But election at Kurawar and Sabalgarh was stayed and turned down by the court while voting was held at the other two places. Congress retained all four seats.

BJP state chief Nandkumar Singh Chouhan said the victory is a "gift to party president Amit Shah" who is scheduled to arrive in Bhopal on August 18 on a three-day visit. "The Congress' claims that farmers' agitation and problems of tribals will help it make a clean sweep proved wrong. The wave of Shivraj Singh Chouhan restricted Congress stalwarts to their own areas," Singh told reporters. "BJP retained 25 seats despite the fact that Election Commission deferred voting in Barwani and Dhar due to difficulties in areas coming under submergence of Sardar Sarovar Dam and agitation by some groups. BJP grabbed more seats than it did in the previous election."

Excited by the results, Congress called it a "sign of change in the state". Congress chief spokesperson K K Mishra pointed out that not only had the Congress tally increased, in at least four seats the margin between BJP and Congress was only a few hundred votes. "The administration worked in favour of BJP, due to which Congress candidates lost," he said. Of the five headquarters, BJP won Shahdol and Dindori seats while Jhabua, Alirajpur and Mandla went with Congress.

2018

Congress somewhat ahead of BJP

Jolt to BJP ahead of MP elections, January 21, 2018: The Times of India

BJP’s victory march in Madhya Pradesh received a jolt for the first time in 14 years on Saturday with the ruling party losing to Congress four of the six municipalities that it held. Assembly elections are scheduled in the state later this year and a jubilant Congress proclaimed that the “so-called magic of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan was wearing off”.

Out of 20 civic bodies that went to the polls on Wednesday, Congress and BJP won nine each. Another went to a Congress-backed independent while counting for the Semaria town council in Rewa was stalled after a court order. In 2013, BJP had bagged 13 while Congress won only seven. BJP, which had won all the six municipalities then, could win only Sendhwa and Pithampur this time. Congress has wrested Dhar, Barwani, Raghogarh and Manawar municipalities from the ruling party.

Cong wins Manawar after gap of 45 years

Significantly, Congress won back Manawar after a gap of 45 years. Congress candidate Sangeeta Shivram Patidar beat BJP’s Manu Shivram Patidar by a margin of 314 votes in this municipality.

Congress has gained ground in urban areas, including big towns like Dhar and Barwani, which were considered BJP bastions.

“BJP was calling these civic polls the quarterfinal before the November assembly elections. Results indicate that Congress will form government in the next assembly elections,” said state Congress president Arun Yadav.

Thanking people, he dedicated the victory to party workers and said: “The socalled magic of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been demolished. Congress is ready to take the challenge of Mungaoli, Kolaras bypolls and the assembly elections in November.”