The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come out with flying colours in Madhya Pradesh, registering a thumping win in the state that it lost in 2018 but was able to reclaim less than two years later. At the time of filing this report, the BJP had won 132 seats and was leading in another 32 seats. The Congress, on the other hand, had won 39 seats and was leading in 26 seats.
The return of the BJP to power after four terms in power defies the anti-incumbency factor that was expected to weigh on the BJP in the state. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has helmed the state for four consecutive terms, barring a brief interval when the Congress was in power following the 2018 Assembly elections, banked on his connect with the people and welfare measures to seek another term in office.
Here are 5 factors that helped the BJP retain Madhya Pradesh:
1) Modi-centred campaign
Behind the BJP’s impressive show in MP are 14 rallies addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He reached out to young voters and reminded them of the failures of previous Congress governments on various fronts. His appeal seemingly touched voters (including women) in the central state. Last month in MP, the prime minister also led a roadshow after polls were announced.
2) Welfare programmes
The 2023 Madhya Pradesh poll campaign became a battle of welfare programmes. In buoying public trust, the ruling party’s Ladli Behna and Kisan Samman Nidhi programmes played an important role. These schemes boosted voters’ confidence weeks ahead of the vote. The saffron party was also able to portray an image that assisted it with women, poor voters, as well as Dalits and tribal people.
3) Double-engine ki sarkar!
The BJP promised that its “double-engine ki sarkar” (the BJP’s terminology for its governments at the state and Centre) would deliver better results for residents of the state, just as it had in other states in the past nine years.
4) Weak campaign by Congress
On the ground, the Congress campaign was invisible. The party depended heavily on social media. For the grand old party, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were the star campaigners. Daily, during the campaign, state Congress president Kamal Nath addressed one to two poll meetings. In contrast, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (64) addressed eight to 10 rallies on average every day to gather support for the BJP.
5) BJP’s early start!
In mid-2022, the BJP started working on the poll. Well in advance, the party announced candidates for seats it lost in the previous poll. With workers, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held meetings in each division of the state.