Madhya Pradesh Election 2023 Dates: The Election Commission of India on Monday announced that the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly go to polls on November 17 in a single phase and the result will be announced on December 3.
The gazette notification will be issued on October 21 and candidates will be able to file their nominations till October 30. The date for scrutiny of nominations has been set for October 31 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature will be November 2.
As per the CEC, the entire process will be completed by December 5.
Polls in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, MP, Telangana will have 8.2 crore male, 7.8 crore female voters, 60.2 lakh first-time voters, the Election Commission said.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said, "Around 60 lakh first time voters(18-19 Yrs) will participate in elections of 5 states. 15.39 lakh young voters are eligible to participate in elections due to amendment on qualifying dates. To inspire young voters, over 2900 polling stations will be managed by youth."
The ‘heart of India’ is expected to have a close fight in Madhya Pradesh as the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party tries to continue with a second term while Congress looks for a comeback. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party will have its debut contest in Madhya Pradesh. As per ABP News CVoter Opinion poll, the state will have a stiff fight between Congress and BJP as both parties are expected to get 44 per cent of the vote share.
The survey shows that Mayawati's BSP is expected to garner two per cent of the votes while other parties and independents may bag almost 10 per cent.
In terms of seats, the survey puts Congress marginally ahead, giving the grand old party anywhere between 108-120 seats while BJP is expected to secure 106-118 seats.
In the 2018 polls, the Congress won 114 seats in the 230-member house -- five more than the BJP's tally of 109. Despite falling short of securing a simple majority, Congress formed a government with the help of four independents.
The victory was, however, short-lived after 22 MLAs of the Congress, including senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, switched sides with BJP.
After this, BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned as the CM on March 23, 2020.