Bhopal: Campaigning for the November 13 bypolls to Budhni and Vijaypur assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh ended at 6 pm on Monday, with the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress making a plethora of promises to achieve victory.
On the last day of campaigning, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressed several meetings and conducted a roadshow in Chakaldi, Bherunda, and Gopalpur in the Budhni constituency. He urged voters to give BJP a landslide victory.
The bypoll to Budhni seat is required since Chouhan, the sitting MLA, was elected to the Lok Sabha and is now Union agriculture minister. The bypoll to Vijaypur seat in Sheopur district was necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat joined the BJP and was made minister in the Mohan Yadav cabinet.
While the BJP has fielded former Vidisha MP and Chouhan loyalist Ramakant Bhargava from Budhni against Congress’ former state minister Rajkumar Patel, in Vijaypur Rawat will take on Congress’ Mukesh Malhotra, a senior tribal leader.
In Budhni, BJP leaders Chouhan, CM Yadav, state unit chief VD Sharma, among others, campaigned for Bhargava. They promised to further develop the constituency, situated adjacent to the sacred river Narmada. It already boasts of a government medical college.
For the Congress, the campaigners included MP general secretary in-charge Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, MP Congress president Jitu Patwari and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh.
The campaign of Rawat, who won from Vijaypur as a Congress candidate in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2023, was aided by CM Yadav, Union Minister Chouhan, VD Sharma and assembly speaker Narendra Singh Tomar.
In Budhni, Yadav attacked the Congress for neglecting citizens and said his government would gradually increase the aid under the state government’s flagship ‘Ladli Bahna Yojana from the current Rs 1,250 to Rs 5,000.
The Congress is a guarantee of corruption, dynastic politics and appeasement, Tomar said during rallies.
In Vijaypur, Tomar had attacked the Congress over corruption and said the BJP is the only party which works for the welfare of the poor and development. Before 2003, MP was called a ‘BIMARU’ (laggard) state, but after the BJP came to power, prosperity and happiness prevails, Tomar had said.
Campaigning for his party, Congress’ Bhanwar Jitendra Singh had accused the BJP of making “false” promises for the sake of votes and then forgetting people after winning polls.
Patwari had said Budhni had not seen development though its several-time MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also the state’s longest serving chief minister. Women rallied behind him (Chouhan) for getting respect and youth for getting jobs but not even 20 persons got jobs, Patwari had claimed.
In Vijaypur, the Congress, which has fielded Malhotra with an eye on the large number of ST votes, also got former Rajasthan deputy CM to woo Gurjar voters.
Former CM Digvijaya Singh and his MLA son Jaivardhan Singh also campaigned for the Congress in Vijaypur.
“The number of voters in Vijaypur assembly constituency is 2,54,647, comprising 1,21,091 females, 1,33,554 males and two third gender persons. There are 103 service voters. In Budhni, there are 2,76,397 voters. These comprise 1,33,280 females, 1,43,111 males, six third gender persons as well as 194 service voters,” a poll official said.
There are 327 polling stations in Vijaypur, while the figure for Budhni is 363, he added.
Polling will take place between 7am and 6pm on November 13, while results will be declared on November 23
