The Election Commission (EC) on Monday announced the schedule for Legislative Assembly elections in five States, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana.
Single-phase Assembly polls will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, Telangana on November 30 and Mizoram on November 7, while Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in two phases on November 7 (20 seats) and 17 (70 seats).
Counting of votes in all States will take place on December 3.
There has been a lot of buzz around the elections this season, especially in view of the the Lok Sabha elections next year as these five States account for 83 Lok Sabha seats.
The term of the Mizoram Assembly ends on December 17, while the terms of the legislative Assemblies of Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan end on different dates in January next year.
Speaking at the Press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said nearly 16 crore voters would be eligible to cast their votes in these elections. He said strong measures are being put in place to make these polls inducement free.
Kumar said these five States will have 1.77 lakhpolling stations, of which 1.01 lakh will have webcasting facilities. He said with over 940 inter-State border check posts in five States, any cross-border movement of illicit cash, liquor, freebies and drugs will be checked.
“Around 60 lakh first-time voters will participate in elections. As many as 15.39 lakh young voters are eligible to participate in elections due to amendment on qualifying dates. To inspire young voters, over 2, 900 polling stations will be managed by youth,” said Kumar.
More than 8,000 polling stations will be managed by women, he said. Responding to a query on freebies announced by various political parties, Kumar said the freebies announced by political parties and State Governments have a “tadka” of populism and it is difficult for those who win polls to either implement these sops or stop this practice.
The upcoming Assembly elections will be a major litmus test especially for the Opposition bloc INDIA as it will not only determine its standing against the ruling BJP but also set the tone for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Out of five States slated to go to polls this year, the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Telangana, on the other hand, is ruled by the KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samiti and the Mizo National Front (MNF) is in power in Mizoram.
The BJP and the Congress will be engaged in a direct fight in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan while the two parties are also in contention for power in Telangana, where Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi is eyeing a third straight term.
In Mizoram, regional parties and the Congress will challenge the incumbent Mizo National Front amid the Opposition party’s hope that political polarisation on ethnic lines following violence in Manipur may boost its chances.
In Madhya Pradesh, a fierce competition among parties to offer freebies and guarantees, a scramble for tribal, OBC, women votes and a touch of Hindutva — all have combined to make the Assembly polls a high-stakes battle with main rivals the BJP and the Congress pulling out all the stops to gain power.
The BJP is in power for the last 20 years in the State. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who is fighting anti-incumbency factor, is on a freebies announcing spree, mostly targeting women, and playing temples-centric Hindutva card, while State Congress president Kamal Nath is countering his rival’s doles with his own pre-poll guarantees and wooing OBC voters.
With a long history of bipolar politics, dominated by the Congress and the BJP, Madhya Pradesh — located in the geographic heart of India — will also see the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) trying to make its presence felt in the state this time around. The BJP is pinning hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma to get voters on their side with “MP Ke Man Mein Modi” slogan and theme song of electioneering focused on him.
Modi has addressed nine rallies in seven months. In Chhattisgarh, the Congress Government led by Bhupesh Baghel has been in power for the last five years after recording a stupendous victory in 2018. There was a leadership dispute between Baghel and TS Singh Deo, settled recently with the Congress making TS Singh Deo the Deputy CM. On the other hand, after Raman Singh, the BJP has been facing a leadership crisis in the State. Over the past five years, it has changed three State presidents but has still to come out of its shadow, with Raman Singh still the most favoured CM candidate of the BJP in the minds of voters, as per surveys.
In Rajasthan, no Government has come back to power here since 1993. For the last three decades, there has been a revolving door mechanism followed in the State — BJP-Congress-BJP-Congress-BJP-Congress.
Meanwhile, the Congress is trying to retain its hold in Rajasthan where it hasseen frequent infighting between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, as well as in Chhattisgarh where it is facing challenges against the BJP to secure its OBC votebank.
The BJP, on the other hand, has skillfully kept the issue of religious conversion simmering, along with allegations of scams and corruption against the Government. For Congress, promises of a nationwide caste census and fast-forwarding of women’s reservation bill implementation are among the top agendas across its campaigns.
In Rajasthan, the party announced it will begin its election campaign on October 16, the slogan for which is “Kaam kiya dil se, Congress firse”.
In Telangana, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is seeking a third consecutive win with the idea that a vote against it is a vote against Telangana. The party is however facing several challenges against the BJP in opposition which is trying to make inroads in the State. In Mizoram, the Mizo National Front (MNF) is fighting to hold its turf.
