MP Election: Kharge Makes Congress's Poll Pitch With Promises Of Caste Census, Doles To Women, Cheap LPG

Madhya Pradesh Election 2023: This was Mallikarjun Kharge's first visit to the state after assuming the presidency of the Congress. This comes after the party won the Karnataka Assembly election.

Mallikarjun Kharge is visiting Madhya Pradesh for the first time after taking charge as the Congress president.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said the party will conduct a caste census in Madhya Pradesh after winning the assembly polls in the state. He was addressing a public rally in Sagar in MP’s Bundelkhand region. Kharge's address in the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh holds significance in a number of ways for the Congress.

First, this is Kharge's first visit to the state after assuming the presidency of the Congress. Second, he took on the BJP governments at the Centre and the state just a little over a week after PM Narendra Modi addressed the voters of Madhya Pradesh. And thirdly, the Madhya Pradesh visit comes right after the Congress, under his leadership, won a decisive victory in his home state, Karnataka. He would want to keep that momentum going.

"I promise that when Congress comes to power, farmers will get relief from debts. LPG cylinder will be available at Rs 500. Women will get Rs 1,500 per month. For government workers, old pension scheme will be implemented," he said. Kharge further said that 100 units of electricity will be free. "We will also have a caste census in the state," Kharge added.

Kharge's rally in Sagar, initially planned for August 13, had to be cancelled. This decision followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foundation stone-laying ceremony on August 12 for a memorial and temple dedicated to Sant Ravidas, a revered figure among Scheduled Castes, which was coupled with a public gathering in Sagar.

Sagar district is MP's Bundelkhand region. This region has six districts — Sagar, Chattarpur, Tikamgarh, Nimari, Damoh and Panna. These districts account for 26 assembly seats, of which Congress has only 9. Six of these seats are exclusively reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates. In the 2018 state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory in five out of these seats — Bina, Naryoli, Jatara, Chandala, and Hatta — while the Congress managed to secure the seat in Gunnor.

The Bundelkhand region encompasses districts such as Sagar, Chattarpur, Tikamgarh, Nimari, Damoh, and Panna. Among the 26 Assembly seats in this region, BJP secured victory in 15 during the previous state elections, with Congress securing nine, and one each going to the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

Specifically focusing on the Sagar district, the BJP achieved success in six out of eight seats, leaving two for the Congress. According to the 2011 Census, Madhya Pradesh's Dalit population amounted to 1.13 crore.

In the 2018 elections, BJP secured 18 out of the 35 reserved SC seats in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress secured 17, marking a significant increase from its 2013 tally of four seats.

To appeal to Dalit voters, the BJP administration in Madhya Pradesh constructed a temple for Sant Ravidas in Maihar town within the Satna district, which shares a border with Uttar Pradesh. During its rule from 2004 to 2014, the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre announced a substantial package of Rs 8,000 crore for the development of the Bundelkhand region.

In the 2018 elections, the Congress successfully formed a coalition government under Kamal Nath after securing 114 seats in the 230-member House. The BJP, having only won 109 seats, lost its hold on power. However, the Kamal Nath government faced a massive crisis in March 2020 due to the rebellion by MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, resulting in the BJP's return to power with Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the helm.