Madhya Pradesh by-polls results: Kamal Nath’s hopes dashed as BJP leads on 21 seats

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading on 21 seats in the Madhya Pradesh by-polls, former chief minister Kamal Nath’s hopes have been dashed. The Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are ahead on six and one seats, respectively, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday.

In the 230-member  Assembly, the BJP has 107 MLAs, Congress 88, BSP 2, SP 1, and Independents 4.

The Congress had hoped to win at least 20 seats in the bypolls but the trends indicate otherwise.The Congress had campaigned vigorously in the bypolls in a bid to return to power in the state. The party had to win at least 22 seats to remain in the numbers game but it had not crossed the double-digit figure if counting trends are an indication.

As per the ECI at 3 pm, BJP's vote share stands at 51.3 per cent with its candidates leading in Gwalior, Gwalior East, Dabra, Bamori, Ambah, Sanwer, Bandawar and Jaura seats, among others.
Meanwhile, Congress candidates, with 39.9 per cent combined vote share, are ahead on Agar, Karera, Biaora, Sumaoli, Dimani and Gohad seats. The lone BSP candidate is leading from Morena seat in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress government in the state was toppled after a revolt by Jyotiraditya Scindia, with whom 25 MLAs left in March. The Congress needed to win all 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh to regain a majority in the Assembly. On the other hand, the ruling BJP needs only nine seats to reach the magic figure of 116.

(With agency inputs)