New Delhi, Nov 2 (UNI) As many as 54 Assembly seats in 10 states will go for by-elections on November 3,Tuesday, which includes 28 of Madhya Pradesh, that will decide Bharatiya Janata Party's continuation in power.
Congress lost power in the state recently due to revolt by Jyotiraditya Scindia and his loyalists against Kamal Nath dispensation.
Across the nation, 63 Assembly seats are currently vacant. Election Commission of India, last month, announced the bypolls to 56 among them, with voting on two seats of Manipur on November 7, Saturday. The ECI also gave the green signal for by-election to Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, which will also be held on Saturday.
Votes will be counted on November 10th.
The ECI, however, withheld the bypolls to seven Assembly seats vacant in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala, as their current Assemblies are about to complete the full term.
Ambitions
In Madhya Pradesh, at stake are the political ambitions of Mr Scindia, a former Congress leader who recently joined the BJP, and Mr Nath, veteran Congressman and former chief minister.
In March, Scindia fold revolted against Mr Nath and 22 MLAs resigned and joined the BJP, leading to the downfall of the Congress government. Three more Congress leaders followed in their footsteps and quit the grandold party. Rest four other seats fall vacant due to the demise of the sitting MLAs.
The BJP requires to win at least nine seats out of 28 to keep Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan in power but Congress needs to bag all the seats for a clear majority. For Mr Scindia, much more is at stake. Out of 28 seats, 16 fall under Gwalior-Chambal region, a stronghold of the erstwhile Maharaja. If he fails to get these seats, it will be an embarrassment less for the BJP but more for him, as he is still seeking a key position in the BJP.
The Congress has asked for a vote against the dishonesty of rebels and alleged failure of Chouhan government in controlling COVID-19 and farm crisis. On the other hand, Mr Chouhan has evoked the nationalism chord and more doles to farmers.
However, on Monday, Mr Nath received a shot in his arm as the Supreme Court stayed the order of the ECI of delisting him from the list of star campaigners for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct. He has allegedly called a BJP woman candidate an "item" but later clarified that his remarks were "misunderstood".
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