India is gearing up for a crucial round of state assembly elections in five states, with approximately 16.1 crore eligible voters poised to cast their votes. These elections, often viewed as “semi-finals,” hold immense significance as they unfold just months before the highly anticipated 2024 Lok Sabha election.The electoral schedule for these states is as follows:
- Mizoram: The electoral process will kick off with Mizoram going to the polls on November 7.
- Chhattisgarh: This central Indian state will witness two phases of voting, with the first phase coinciding with Mizoram on November 7 and the second phase with Madhya Pradesh on November 17.
- Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh is scheduled for voting on November 17.
- Rajasthan: Rajasthan will conduct its elections on November 23.
- Telangana: The southern state of Telangana will conclude the electoral process on November 30.
All the election results for these states are slated to be declared on December 3.
In the previous assembly elections held in 2018, the Congress party secured victories in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. However, the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh faced a setback when prominent leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and nearly two dozen legislators defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resulting in the fall of Kamal Nath’s government.
In Chhattisgarh, the Congress secured a strong victory with 68 seats, while the BJP won just 15 seats. The Congress also claimed 43 percent of the vote share in the state.
In Madhya Pradesh, the competition between the BJP and Congress was intense, with the BJP securing 109 seats and the Congress 114. The vote share was evenly split, with both parties holding 41 percent.
Rajasthan saw the Congress win 100 out of 200 seats, forming the government with Ashok Gehlot as Chief Minister. The BJP secured 73 seats, and the Congress garnered support from the Bahujan Samaj Party, which won six seats.
Telangana, the only southern state in this round of polls, witnessed a resounding victory for Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi in 2018, securing 88 seats out of 119. The Congress was a distant second with 19 seats, while Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM secured seven. The BJP won just one seat.
In Mizoram, the Mizo National Front swept the 2018 polls, securing 27 out of 40 seats. The Congress won four seats, and the BJP secured one, with the remaining seats going to independent candidates.
The current assembly terms for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana are set to conclude in January next year, while Mizoram’s term will end in December. These upcoming elections will play a pivotal role in shaping the political landscape of these states and set the tone for the forthcoming national elections in India.
Sources By Agencies
