MP Election: Congress Will Form Govt With 116 Seats, Kamal Nath To Be CM Face, Says Digvijaya Singh

MP Polls 2023: "We need 116 seats to form a government. We are going to get more than 116 seats. The party face will be Kamal Nath," Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. (File Photo)

MP Polls 2023: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh stated on Monday that the grand old party will form the next government in Madhya Pradesh after sweeping more than 116 of the 230 seats, with Kamal Nath as the chief ministerial face, news agency PTI reported. MP Assembly elections are scheduled for later this year.

When questioned about the number of seats the Congress will win and who will be its chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming polls, Singh stated: "We need 116 seats to form a government. We are going to get more than 116 seats. The party face will be Kamal Nath."

When asked about the Congress' chances of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming general election, Singh stated that this is not a presidential election.

"Under the Parliamentary form of government, elections are fought between parties in which a party wins, not a candidate," he added.

When questioned about the call by certain Hindu preachers and BJP leaders to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra, Singh responded that if they don't believe in the Constitution, all constitutional officials, including BJP leaders, should retire.

He referred to the Ladli Behna Yojana, which was announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan last month, as a "election stunt."

"Chouhan has been the chief minister since 2003. In between Congress came to power for just 15 months (December 2018 to March 2020). Why did he not think of women's welfare in 18-and-a-half years?" he questioned.

The Madhya Pradesh elections in 2018 produced a hung Assembly, with the Congress emerging as the largest party, earning 114 seats in the 230-member House, while the BJP gained 109. Nonetheless, the BJP received 41.02 percent of the vote, while the Congress received 40.89 percent. The Congress created a government under Kamal Nath, but it dissolved in March 2020 when MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia revolted, allowing Shivraj Singh Chouhan to return as chief minister.

JP Nadda, the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, predicted last month that the saffron party will win more than 200 of the 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh in the 2018 elections.

(With Inputs From PTI)