Is is yet to be clear as who would be the chief ministerial candidate of Congress in the ensuing assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief and formenr Chief Minister Kamal Nath has time and again projected himself as the next chief minister, however, voices have raised against this projection by the Congress leaders of Madhya Pradesh.
Besides, the high command has not come out with any name for chief ministerial candidate. Recently, when Rahul Gandhi was questioned regarding the face of chief ministerial candidate, he shirked the query.
Both senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadhra have also not zeroed down on any name. However, they are taking the elections of Madhya Pradesh very seriously. Priyanka has already addressed two public meetings in Jabalpu0r and Gwalior.
Party is planning more rallies in near future. Party sources said that Priyanka would be at centre stage addressing public meetings and election rallies in urban belts of Madhya Pradesh, while Rahul Gandhi would focus on rural areas of the State.
It is considered that tribal and dalit votes have key of power in Madhya Pradesh. There are 47 seats reserved for tribals, while 35 for scheduled castes. Whoever is able to garner more support on these seats, is able to form government. Considering these seats important, former AICC president Rahul Gandhi would be moving to triabl and dalit constituencies of Madhya Pradesh in coming days.
The next visit of Rahul Gandhi will be in Beohari of Shahdol district on August 8. This is the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh, which is considered very important in terms of the assembly elections.
Since, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Pafrty (BJP) got defeated in the last assembly elections, political observers feel that this election would be real touigh for the ruling party.
While the 2008 and 2013 assembly elections were focussed on Ladli Laxmi scheme, it is believed that Ladli Bahna scheme launched recently would help the BJP to return to power.
Both the BJP and the Congress have kept women voters front and centre in their campaign strategy till now, with the BJP-led State government launching the ‘Ladli Bahena’ scheme of Rs1,000 per month as income support to women between the ages of 21-60 years.
The Shivraj government has already released two instalments of the income support scheme, adding up to roughly over Rs 2,400 crore, to over 1.25 crore beneficiaries across the State. The challenge, however, is to convince beneficiaries that a bird in hand is better than a manifesto promise.
Under this scheme, women of the State have started getting Rs 1000 per month. The much publicised scheme is considereded as a step towards women empowerment.
In reply to this maste stroke of the BJP, the Congress party has declared tjhat it would provide Rs 1,500 per month to the women, when it comes to power. However, within no time, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan publicly declared that he would not stop at giving just Rs 1,000 per month. This amount would increase by Rs 200 per year, as soon as he manages to get more funds available.