BJP once more in Madhya Pradesh; party wins 17 seats, leading in 149, Congress ahead in 59

The Congress' plans to wrest power from the BJP were shattered as the grand old party has managed to surge ahead in only 59 of the 230 seats in the assembly.

Bhopal: All set to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has won 17 seats and is leading in 149 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, as per the latest official figures. The Congress’ plans to wrest power from the BJP were shattered as the grand old party has managed to surge ahead in only 59 of the 230 seats in the assembly.

Celebrations broke out at the BJP office in Bhopal, while the Congress office wore a deserted look on Sunday after it became clear that the saffron party was poised to retain power in Madhya Pradesh with an emphatic win over its rival.

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Amid the sound of crackers, jubilant workers were seen dancing to the beating of drums as joyous scenes prevailed at the BJP office. Party leaders and workers were seen hugging one another and distributing sweets.

Many party leaders attributed the electoral success to PM Narendra Modi, who addressed as many as 14 poll rallies in the state.

State chief V D Sharma also joined the celebrations at the party office in Bhopal. He too was seen dancing with party colleagues.

In stark contrast, the Congress office bore a deserted look. MP Congress president Kamal Nath and senior party leader Digvijaya Singh were in the state office, holding discussions with party functionaries.

In Budhni assembly constituency, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan of BJP was leading over Vikram Sharma of Congress.

Polling in the single-phase elections on November 17 saw an impressive turnout of 77.82 per cent, surpassing the 2018 voting percentage of 75.63 per cent.

The state electorate voted for 2,533 candidates in 230 constituencies. There were 5.59 lakh eligible voters.

In the outgoing assembly, the BJP has 127 members and the Congress has 96. There are 4 independents, while the BSP has two and SP has one member.

In 2013, the BJP won 165 seats and the Congress 58. In those polls, the BJP garnered 44.88 per cent votes while the Congress polled 36.38 per cent votes.

In 2018, the Congress emerged victorious in 114 seats with 40.89 per cent vote share while the BJP registered win in 109 seats with 41.02 per cent votes.