The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) second list of candidates for the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections has drawn a sharp reaction from Congress leader Kamal Nath. The former Chief Ministyer labelled the list, which includes central ministers and Lok Sabha MPs, as an admission of imminent defeat by the rulinjg party.

The BJP in the state has thus far declared its candidates for 78 out of the 230 seats in the House, including the initial list of 39 nominees revealed back in August.

Anticipated to be held at the end of the year, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections have seen the BJP field seven Lok Sabha members, which notably include Union ministers Faggan Singh Kulaste, Prahlad Singh Patel, and Narendra Singh Tomar. Additionally, party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has also been enlisted.

Also Read: Madhya Pradesh Election 2023: On BJP’s second list, Kamal Nath’s ‘internal defeat’ swipe

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath said that the ruling party has accepted defeat in MP and played its ‘last bet of false hope.’

“The candidates’ list of the BJP, which claims to have crores of party workers, is surely a stamp on the party’s internal defeat and refutes the claims of development during the eighteen-and-a-half years of the BJP government and more than 15 years of Shivraj’s (Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan) rule,” he remarked.

Nath further said that the grandiose claims of Madhya Pradesh’s development have been debunked, and labelled them as ‘white lies.’

Also Read: MP elections 2023: BJP fields three Union ministers in second list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh

Alongside the three Union ministers, the BJP has also nominated four Lok Sabha members, namely Rakesh Singh, Riti Pathak, Ganesh Singh, and Udaypratap Singh, for the state assembly elections.

The Congress government under Kamal Nath fell in March 2020 following a revolt by MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, subsequently paving the way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s return as Chief Minister. Post-bypolls resulting from legislators switching allegiances following the rebellion, the BJP now commands 126 MLAs in the 230-member House, while the Congress holds 96 seats.