Elections in 5 states are pending in the coming month. Beginning from 17th november, day when Madhya Pradesh goes in for the poll. Several political scientists and analysts have been terming the simultaneous polling as the “teaser” to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In this article, particular light will be laid on the electoral historiography of the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh is one of those states where the BJP and the Congress Party will come face to face, as there is a lack of a prominent regional party. Madhya Pradesh, in some parts, is raging with an anti-incumbency wave, given almost 20 years of almost uninterrupted BJP rule. In 2018, after the last State Assembly election, the Indian National Congress had swept the polls, by a low margin. Making Mr. Kamalnath the Chief Minister for a brief period. However, after a few months of ruling, a collective defection led by Jyotiraditya Scindia, ensured that the government fell.
Then, The BJP took over, making Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of the state for the 3rd time. This particular year. The “ladli behan Yojana” has been a flagship programme of the ruling BJP, through this scheme the BJP has aimed at carving an electorate comprising females. Shivraj Singh Chaouhan has been popularly referred to as “mama” (mother’s brother), building on that image, this scheme has been to target the very specific population of the state which ardently perceives him as the “mama”
Moreover, there have been several election rallies where many Union Ministers, who are also contesting the State Assembly election this time, have come down to campaign for their party. Ministers such as Narender Singh Tomar, who have maintained their portfolio at the national level, have been contesting for the seat of MLA.
The Indian National Congress has been riding on the wave of reducing the distress of the farmers as well as the groups that fall under the Below Poverty Line. The promises lie in the realm of loan waiver as well as reduction in prices of basic amenities such as gas cylinders. The most visible hope for the lead opposition party in MP lies in the raging anti-incumbency wave. Moreover, the Bharat Jodo Yatra and numerous rallies conducted by the members of Congress have aided in reviving between the opposition party and the people at large.
Madhya Pradesh has historically been a “bimaru” state, joining the list of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, the reason being the chronic poverty as faced by some populations within the state. Their condition is sustained as the ruling governments within the state have refrained from actively considering the poverty-alleviation programmes. Therefore, the parties fight on grounds of how they will try to fight the “garibi”, their election manifesto highlights the point of poverty boldly and loudly, in most of the elections.
The manner in which it differs from the state of Bihar comes from the division of the electorate on the grounds of class instead of caste, at the level of state. Within the constituencies, the role of caste identity of the contestants is highlighted time and again, however at a broader level, there is a systematic refrain from mentioning casteist identity particularly, the economic category is highlighted more often than the caste identity. In the wake of release of the caste census by the Bihar Government, the Prime Minister, in one of the reflections to the census called it out, saying there should be a cohesive attempt by all groups to fight poverty, and denounced the divisiveness as seems potential in the rise of caste based politics.
