Bhopal:

The Congress released its first list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh elections at 9.09 am on the first day of Navratri – a nine-day festival dedicated to Goddess Durga.

KK Mishra, Chairman of Media Cell of Madhya Pradesh Congress, said that the decision to release the first list of 144 candidates was taken in view of the auspicious festival.

“Since there is no difference in politics and family life, taking care of auspicious timing is in our culture and values, this coincidence is important,” he said.

A top astrologer said that the digit 9 is considered a symbol of perfection. “In Navratri, in which Navadurga is worshiped, ‘9’ represents Navadurga’s blessings,” said Adya Pathak.

The BJP hit out at the Congress over the move, calling the party “double-faced”. “If Congress cares so much about the Sanatana Dharma then why are they part of the INDIA alliance – which opposes the name of Lord Ram,” said BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi.

Congress released the first list of 144 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections on Sunday, fielding state unit president and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath from Chhindwara.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who belongs to the BJP, will contest from his traditional Budhni seat.

Apart from Madhya Pradesh, the party has also declared candidates for 30 seats in Chhattisgarh and 55 in Telangana.

Bhopal:

The Congress has fielded popular actor Vikram Mastal against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the upcoming assembly elections. Mr Mastal is best known for his role as Hanuman in Anand Sagar’s 2008 television show Ramayana.

The party today announced its first list of party candidates for the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana assembly elections.

In Madhya Pradesh, the party fielded former chief minister and PCC chief Kamal Nath from his Chhindwara assembly constituency. Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh has been fielded from Raghigath seat. He was a minister in the last Kamal Nath government.

Vikram Mastal will be up against Mr Chouhan in the Budhni constituency.

Vijay Laxmi Sadho, a former Rajya Sabha member and minister in the state, has been fielded from the Maheshwar-SC assembly seat. Former cabinet minister Jitu Patwari has been fielded from Rau assembly constituency.

The list includes 47 candidates from the general category, 39 from the OBC category, 30 from the ST category, 22 from the SC category, one Muslim, and 19 women. Sixty-five of the candidates are under the age of 50.

The BJP has already announced candidates for over half of the assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, with a list of 136 out of 230 seats.

Madhya Pradesh will hold assembly elections on November 17 to elect representatives for its 230 constituencies. The election will be held in a single phase, and the results will be announced on December 3.

At least four former BJP leaders are in the Congress’ first list of candidates for the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. They are Avdhesh Nayak (Datia), Rao Yadvendra Singh (Mungaoli), ex-BJP MP Bodh Singh Bhagat (Katangi), and Neeraj Sharma (Surkhi). Tickets have been denied to three sitting MLAs, including former Assembly speaker NP Prajapati

New Delhi:

The voting for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections will be held on November 17 with the counting of votes scheduled for December 3, the Election Commission announced today. 

The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly is currently led by the BJP, which has been in power for the last 15 years in the state. 

The Madhya Pradesh assembly polls are a high-stakes battle, with the BJP led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Congress, who have projected Kamal Nath as its chief ministerial candidate, vying for power. Parties are offering freebies and guarantees, courting tribal, OBC, and women voters.

The state has long been dominated by the Congress and BJP, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also hopes to make its mark in the upcoming elections.

Last week, the Madhya Pradesh Election Commission released the final electoral roll for the upcoming state assembly elections. The state has 56,136,229 eligible voters, including 75,304 service voters.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan announced that the state has 56,060,925 general voters that includes 28,825,607 male and 27,233,945 female voters.

Five states will go to polls this year including Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan.
 

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Bhopal on Sunday to attend party meetings, take feedback from candidates and discuss strategy with the state leaders for the upcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, said sources close to the party.

Amit Shah is scheduled to arrive in Bhopal on October 1 at 11:30 am and will stay for approximately three hours, sources said.

He will also conduct separate meetings at the party headquarters with senior leaders.

Notably, Mr Shah’s visit before the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct is deemed significant.

So far, the BJP has released three lists of candidates in Madhya Pradesh, with 39 names in the first and second lists and only one name announced in the third list.

In total, 79 candidates have been announced in these three lists, out of a total of 230 assembly seats, while the names for the remaining 151 seats in the state are yet to be disclosed.

The BJP on Tuesday released its third list containing a single candidate for the forthcoming assembly polls in the state.

The party also announced the list for the Schedule Tribe (ST) reserved Amarwara assembly constituency in Chhindwara district. 

Earlier on Monday evening, BJP released its second list of 39 candidates for the forthcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh which includes four party MPs (Member of Parliament) and three Union Ministers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressing a mega BJP workers meet in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing the party of years of “corruption and misrule”.

Here are the PM’s top quotes:

Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge during a press conference after the bloc leaders meeting, in Mumbai on Friday
| Photo Credit: ANI

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