“130 plus seats for Congress”, claims Digvijaya Singh

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], December 3 (ANI): With initial trends showing that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading on seven seats and Congress on one seat in Madhya Pradesh, Senior Congress leader and two-time Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Sunday took a jibe at the incumbent CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying that good days of the BJP leader have “come to an end”.

BJP leading in 7 assembly constituencies and Congress in 1 constituency, as per official trends

Singh, while talking to the reporters here ahead of the counting of the polls, the Congress veteran also said that his party will get over 130 seats.

“…I had said this earlier and I say it today as well – 130 plus. We are getting 130 seats; the rest is to be seen. Not only is his farewell (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) certain but his ‘achhe din’ also ends here,” Digvijaya Singh said.

The counting of votes of assembly elections held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17 began at 8 am on Sunday

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections were held on November 17, 2023, to elect all 230 members of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Voting was carried out in a single phase.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) stand as the primary political forces. However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati and the Samajwadi Party (SP) also hold significance in the state’s political landscape.

Digvijaya Singh, Senior Congress leader and two-time CM was an integral part of the Kamal Nath-led party campaign.

Singh has been in politics since 1977 and is known for his outspoken and controversial views on various issues. He is currently a Rajya Sabha MP and a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

Most exit-poll projections released on Thursday put the BJP in the lead, with the Congress seen to be coming up short and not cashing in on the ‘anti-incumbency’ as they had hoped to. Some exit polls, however, gave an advantage to the Congress party.

Madhya Pradesh has been a BJP stronghold for the last twenty years, barring the 15-month tenure of the Kamal Nath-led government when Congress came to power in 2018.

The BJP fought the poll under a largely collective leadership while Congress projected former Chief Minister Kamal Nath as its chief ministerial face.

The last state assembly polls in 2018 saw the Congress coming to power, with Kamal Nath taking oath as the chief minister. Later, Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 MLAs, switched over to the BJP and Chouhan again assumed office as Chief Minister of the state.

The state’s overall turnout hit a record high of 76.22 per cent for the 230-member Assembly this year, up from 74.97 per cent in 2018, when the Congress won but was toppled by defections just over a year later.