Madhya Pradesh Bypolls: Jyotiraditya Scindia's Litmus Test As Voting Across 28 Assembly Seats Begin

Madhya Pradesh has started the bypolls for 28 Assembly seats today. The need for the elections emerged after several Congress leaders joined BJP leaving seats empty.

Getty Images

New Delhi: Even as Bihar begins the second phase of voting in the state, voting for bypolls in 28 Assembly seats have started from 7 AM today. The voting will end at 6 PM and according to a report by PTI, strict Covid 19 protocols are being followed at the polling centres. The report says that Madhya Pradesh has gone for by-elections in 28 Assembly seats in the 230-member House for the first time. The need for a by-election in Madhya Pradesh emerged after 22 MLAs of the Congress government switched over to the BJP in March 2020. This led to the fall of Kamal Nath's 15-month-old government. Soon after three other Congress MLAs followed the lead of Scindia. Three more seats became vacant due to due to the deaths of incumbent MLAs. The report says in most of the seats, there is a direct fight between the BJP and Congress, while in two or three seats of Gwalior Chambal region, a triangular contest is on the cards in the wake of the BSP's presence there, political observers said. The election is also a litmus test for Jyotiraditya Scindia after his defection from the Congress. From the BJP, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, BJP's Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia, state BJP chief V D Sharma, and former chief minister Uma Bharti were the prominent campaigners. While from Congress, it was State Congress president and former CM Kamal Nath, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh and party leader from Rajasthan Sachin Pilot toured the state to campaign for Congress nominees.