Caste pride, freebies, women voters to decide Madhya Pradesh’s fate

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

for a brief 18 months. In 2020, 22 Congress MLAs defected to BJP and Shivraj Singh Chouhan formed a BJP government again in the state. In the three years after that, BJP tried to balance the power equation among the newcomers and the old party horses. In the final lap, Chouhan had made several announcements, including the Ladli Behna Scheme, to provide monthly financial support to women.

Chouhan is banking heavily on this scheme to woo women voters. Congress, on the other hand, is trying to make it a class war with demand for a caste census and raising the issue of SC/ST atrocities in the state. The party has also promised several schemes if it comes to power including LPG cylinders for Rs 500. BJP has fielded three union ministers and four MPs keeping the game of leadership open for the party. The party is hoping that senior leaders will not only win their seats but also help the party perform better in their regions..

CASTE PRIDE

With 45% OBC population in the state, Congress is playing the OBC card and promising a caste census if the party comes to power. It has fielded 62 OBC candidates. BJP has given tickets to 40 OBC candidates while candidates for 90 seats are yet to be declared. The party is willing to pass Congress number of OBC candidates. It is focusing on the PM Vishwakarma scheme for garnering votes from the smaller OBC castes. Apart from OBCs, both parties are focusing on tribal voters and this is where the real fight is taking place. Out of 47 ST reserved seats, Congress had won 31 in 2018 while BJP had won 16 seats. Senior leaders from both the parties are campaigning in tribal areas.

WOMEN VOTERS

2.72 crore women voters of MP are the target group for both BJP and Congress. Chouhan had announced the