Bhopal: The BJP and the Congress are expected to announce their respective candidates’ list for the November 28 polls in Madhya Pradesh post Dusshera.
With less than two months to go for the polls, the parties are busy finalising names of their candidates. Much like the ruling BJP, the Congress too is expected to go solo in MP after potential allies — the BSP and the SP — decided to go their separate ways over seat sharing disagreement.
Eyeing a fourth successive term in power, the BJP is busy assessing the reports of various surveys carried out at different levels for gauging winnability of their potential candidates in the state. The party is only expected to announce first set of candidates when the first phase of party chief Amit Shah’s state tour concludes by mid-October. Sources claim several sitting MLAs, including half a dozen senior ministers, are facing strong unrest in their home turf.
Amit Shah has conducted his own survey for gauging the pre-poll ground realities in Madhya Pradesh. BJP spokesperson Deepak Vijayvargiya speaking to News18 said that the state leadership has received feedback on potential candidates and the central election committee of the party would announce the names at an ‘appropriate time’.
The Congress party’s three-day screening committee meeting would get underway in New Delhi on October 8 and is expected to complete scrutiny of all the potential candidates by October 10. All these names would be forwarded to party chief Rahul Gandhi.
The party could also announce names after Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Gwalior-Chambal region on October 15-16. The Congress is also banking on surveys for ticket distribution. One of the three surveys was conducted by MPCC president Kamal Nath while two others were carried out by private agencies in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
“We are into final stage of finalising candidates and the list of candidates would be announced shortly,” party spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi told News18. The BSP, on the other hand, has taken the lead in announcing the candidates by releasing the list of 22 names on September 20. The Samajwadi Party came up with the names of six candidates on October 6.
Among other political parties, tribal political outfit Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) is scheduled to announce list of all 80 candidates during Oct 21 public rally whereas Sapaks –representing upper caste organizations, is expected to announce list of names after both BJP and Congress make their candidates’ names public.
Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party was the first to announce candidates in MP with 20 names as early as June this year.
The AAP, contesting assembly polls for the first time in the state, has released more names in subsequent lists, including that of state convener Alok Agrawal who would take on senior BJP minister Umashankar Gupta from Bhopal-South constituency.
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