From Project Cheetah to corruption: Shivraj Singh Chouhan govt faces uphill battle ahead of Madhya Pradesh polls

livemint.com:

Bhartiya Janata Party and Congress will fight out the democratic favour in the form of votes for the upcoming elections to the 230-member assembly. The election commission on Monday announced that polling for the assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held on 17 November.

Further the results to the assembly polls will be declared on 3 December. The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress will remain the main contenders for power though outfits like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will seek to make their presence felt in pockets of their influence and give some serious fight to the two giants of Indian politics.

The 2018 polls saw Congress leader Kamal Nath form the government. However, the state saw a change of guard mid-way in March 2020 when the Congress government collapsed with turncoat Jyotiraditya Scindia's exit and the BJP stormed back to power after remaining in opposition for just 15 months.

The BJP is facing the challenge of overcoming anti-incumbency of nearly four terms, barring a 15-month period from December 2018 to March 2020 when the Congress was in power. The Congress, on the other hand, will seek to encash what it sees as resentment among people against the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government on a range of issues.