The million dollar question doing rounds in Madhya Pradesh politics is whether the Congress would continue its victory march started from Ratlam – Jhabua parliamentary bypoll win or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would bounce back by winning the Maihar Assembly bypoll voting of that was held on Saturday, February 13. The counting of votes would take place on Tuesday, February 16.
Political observers keeping close eye over the bypoll are of the view that it would be close tie and that the victory margin would be very thin.
The by-election became important for the BJP following its defeat in the Ratlam (ST) parliamentary by-election. The party also lost five out of eight urban bodies late in December. One Assembly seat more or less would surely not put Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's popularity in question. But if the BJP loses this seat - the second election in four months - it could force the Chief Minister to review and update some of his policies.
While for Congress, the Maihar by poll is a prestige issue as it won the seat in 2013 despite BJP getting over two-thirds majority in the state Assembly. However, Congress suffered a jolt in the 2014 lok Sabha elections when its Maihar MlA, Narayan Tripathi, switched to BJP.
Now, in order to win Maihar, BJP has fielded Tripathi from the seat. And leaving no stone unturned to ensure Tripathi’s defeat; Congress fielded Manish Patel to consolidate backward class votes in the Brahmin-dominated seat. Patel had joined Congress after quitting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In 2013 he stood third after Congress and BJP.
Come what may be but both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have left no stone unturned to win the by-poll. BJP has banked upon its time tested face of Chief Minister Chouhan to woo the electorate while the Congress has put up a united face as its all senior leaders of the state including former union ministers Kamalnath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kantilal Bhuriya besides Congress general secretary and former state chief minister Digvijay Singh, former leader of opposition in the state assembly and senior MlA Ajay Singh and State Congress president Arun Yadav have extensively campaigned in Maihar to retain the seat.
Congress has won the seat eight times since 1957 while Janata Party, an Independent candidate, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and BJP have each won once in Maihar.