In Madhya Pradesh, in 2018, no party could manage to cross the 116-mark, which is the magic number for the state with a 230-member assembly.
With the Election Commission of India (ECI) declaring the dates for polls in 5 states, the countdown for the big battle has begun. This is going to be the first assembly election since the 28-party I.N.D.I.A. bloc was formed. On the other hand, for the BJP, it is going to be a battle of prestige after it was wiped out from the South following a massive defeat in Karnataka.
With every election, one thing that has followed since its inception is poll promises and announcements. The Congress, which is eyeing to win 3 states and retain its seat in 2 states, is ensuring that no stone is left unturned.
Today, let’s talk about the poll promises made by the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, which is slated to go for polls on the 17th of November 2023.
First, let’s discuss what happened in 2020.
In Madhya Pradesh, in 2018, no party could manage to cross the 116-mark, which is the magic number for the state with a 230-member assembly.
However, the Congress, through its aggressive campaigning, emerged as the single largest party with 114 seats. Congress formed the government with the help of one BSP MLA, one SP MLA, and four Independent MLAs. Kamal Nath was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
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But in 2020, when the nation was battling the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, on 10 March 2020, a senior leader of the INC and a loyalist of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, met Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Soon after meeting them, at around 11:30 a.m., he resigned from the Congress party, saying that he felt very guilty while working for Congress. Following this, 22 leaders of the Congress (Scindia loyalists) resigned from the Congress, calling it an insult to their leader.
The next day (11 March), he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Jagat Prakash Nadda, National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Scindia, who was always seen wearing the Congress shawl, was felicitated with a bouquet and a saffron shawl.
After joining the party, Scindia was given the ticket for Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. Both the INC and BJP approached the Supreme Court (SC) to ask for a floor test in Madhya Pradesh. On 19 March 2020, the apex court ordered the floor test in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
An emotional Kamal Nath resigned as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister even before the floor test could take place in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, as he was aware that he lacked the numbers.
“Mera kya kasoor tha? (What was my fault) The BJP had 15 years to develop the state, but it didn’t. I had just 15 months, of which in two months, there was a model code of conduct due to Lok Sabha elections.”
On 21 March 2020, all the 22 rebel ex-Congress MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the presence of BJP’s national president, J. P. Nadda. The very next day, Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the oath as the new Chief Minister.
Now, let’s discuss what Congress has promised so far in Madhya Pradesh in a bid to avenge the humiliation it faced.
Gas Cylinders:
The Congress has, on multiple occasions, attacked the ruling BJP over the rising LPG prices, sometimes by sharing Union Minister Smriti Irani’s picture from a protest over LPG price rise or a viral video of the PM asking voters to do a namaskar facing the gas cylinder before visiting the polling booth. Congress has vowed to slash LPG prices to 500, which is approximately 900 in the state currently.
Replicating Gruha Lakshmi scheme:
Promising to replicate the Gruha Laxmi scheme, which guarantees a Rs 2,000 sustenance assistance to women heads of every family, the Congress has promised to give Rs 1,500 to every woman head of the family in a state with more than 48% women population.
Subsidy in Electricity:
Borrowing a page from the AAP’s book, Congress has promised 100 units of free electricity and a 50% discount up to 200 units of electricity.
Agri loan waiver:
One of the major reasons behind the Congress coming to power in the state in 2018 was its promises of loan waivers for farmers. “Congress ka kehna Saaf har Kisan ka karza maaf,” was the tagline of the election campaign. The Congress claims it waived loans of 27 lakh farmers during the Kamal Nath government and will resume the scheme, which was stopped by the BJP government.
OPS:
A formula that worked for the Congress in Himachal Pradesh – many political experts claim the major reason behind the Congress’s victory in Himachal Pradesh was its promise to restore the Old Pension Scheme. A large number of government employees have been demanding the restoration of the OPS, and Congress has promised to do so if elected back to power.
Caste Survey:
The Congress has announced that whichever state it is ruling and wherever it comes to power, it will conduct a caste survey.
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