The Congress on Wednesday questioned the absence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's name from the list of candidates announced by BJP and excuded confidence that it would create "history" in the upcoming Assembly polls. Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said the name of Chief Minister is usually announced in the first list of candidates.
"Usually, the name of Chief Minister should be announced in the first list of candidates but there is no mention of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. When the BJP doesn't even consider him, then why should the public? The Congress is going to create history in Madhya Pradesh by winning most seats," PTI quoted Congress leader Pramod Tiwari as saying.
Seeking to deflect Opposition criticism of BJP fielding seven sitting MPs for the upcoming election, UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said the party would secure a one-sided majority in the polls.
"In MP, BJP is going to return in a dignified manner. The condition of Congress has worsened as soon as our candidates are announced. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has nothing in MP, the fight is between Congress and BJP," ANI quoted Maurya as saying.
READ: 'Didn't Want To Contest Polls, But...': BJP’s Kailash Vijayvargiya On Being Nominated For MP Polls
In its second list of candidates, BJP has named three Union ministers -- Faggan Singh Kulaste, Prahlad Singh Patel and Narendra Singh Tomar -- and four other sitting MPs besides national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya for the polls.
Meanwhile, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, said the Shivraj Chouhan government only "grabbed" lands of SCs and STs and would be punished by the people in the polls.
"The government of 20 years in Madhya Pradesh, except the 15 months (of Congress government), didn't do anything for any section of the society. They grabbed lands of SCs and STs, cancelled their ownership of forest land," Digvijaya told reporters after visiting Ujjain Mahakal temple.
"BJP's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' is a flop. The people are angry and ready to punish them," he further said.
On Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath claimed the BJP had accepted defeat and played its "last bet of false hope".
The BJP has so far declared candidates for 78 out of the total 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
In the previous election, Congress returned to power in the state after winning 114 seats while the BJP bagged 109. The Congress formed a government under Kamal Nath but it was short lived and collapsed in March 2020 following a rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia and his loyalist MLAs. The move saw BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as CM.
BJP now has 126 MLAs, while the Congress has 96 legislators.