MP Assembly Election 2023: Complete candidate list of BJP and Congress

Bhopal: The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, which will be held in a single phase on November 17, 2021. The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on December 3, 2021. The term of the current assembly will end on January 7, 2022.

Madhya Pradesh has 230 assembly constituencies, out of which 33 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 45 for the Scheduled Tribes. According to the electoral roll published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh, there are 5,60,60,925 voters in the state, including 2,88,25,607 males, 2,72,33,945 females, and 1,373 others belonging to the third gender.

The main contest in the state is between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress. The BJP, led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is seeking a fourth consecutive term in power, while the Congress, led by former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, is hoping to regain power after losing it in 2018. The other parties in the fray include the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP).

The BJP has announced its candidates for all the 230 seats, while the Congress has declared its nominees for 229 seats. The Congress has also changed its candidates for two seats, Datia and Pichhore, after facing protests from some party workers and leaders. The party has replaced Avadesh Nayak with Rajendra Bharti in Datia, and Shailendra Singh with Arvind Singh Lodhi in Pichhore.

Datia is considered a high-profile seat, as the BJP has fielded its Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is also the leader of the house in the assembly. Mishra won the seat in 2018 by defeating Bharti, a former MLA, by a margin of 794 votes. Bharti is expected to give a tough fight to Mishra this time, as he enjoys the support of the local Congress leaders and workers.

Pichhore is also a crucial seat, as it is a part of the Gwalior-Chambal region, which is known as the stronghold of the Scindia family. The BJP has fielded Pradyumn Singh Lodhi, who had won the seat in 2018 as a Congress candidate, but later switched to the BJP in 2020. He is facing a challenge from Arvind Singh Lodhi, who is the son of former BJP MLA Ram Singh Lodhi. The Congress is hoping to win back the seat by highlighting the issue of defection and betrayal.

The election campaign in the state is likely to witness a heated exchange of words and allegations between the BJP and the Congress leaders. The BJP is banking on the popularity and performance of Chouhan, who has been the chief minister of the state for more than 15 years. The party is also highlighting the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led central government and its welfare schemes for the poor and the farmers. The Congress, on the other hand, is accusing the BJP of being corrupt, anti-people, and anti-farmer. The party is also raising the issues of unemployment, inflation, law and order, and Covid-19 management.