INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Singh Chouhan government is voted back to power when Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls later this month
Even as senior leaders shrugged off reports of mounting anti-incumbency, the party leadership on Tuesday released a star-studded list of 40
campaigners featuring everybody from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.The BJP, which has been in power
here for 15 years, won the 2013 elections with a thumping majority
However, many believe its support may be waning in the backdrop of the Vyapam scam and the Mandsaur agitation
And the Congress, led by party leaders Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, wants to make the most of the situation.Among the other star
campaigners on the list are BJP president Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Road
Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani,
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Textile Minister Smriti Irani and actor-turned-BJP legislator Hema Malini.Former Chief
will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 28, and the votes counted on December 11
While the Congress is yet to declare its chief ministerial candidate, Mr Chouhan filed his nomination papers from Budhni in Sehore district
yesterday.Both Mr Scindia and Mr Nath have emerged forerunners for the chief minister's post in case of a Congress victory
While Mr Scindia represents Guna in the Lok Sabha, Mr Nath is a nine-time parliamentarian from Chhindwara.The coming election, however, is
unlikely to be a two-horse race
Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said that it will play a key role in the formation of the next government in Madhya Pradesh if
voters deliver a fractured mandate
"We will win at least 32 seats in the 230-seat state assembly
If neither the BJP nor the Congress get a majority, the Congress will have to support us to form the next government," state BSP president
Pradeep Ahirwar said recently.(With inputs from agencies)
