The exchange that has gone viral on social media.

I want Congress swept out completely. Puja if you want to become the SDM, then make the BJP win in Jaitpur."

So goes the alleged conversation between a district collector and a deputy district collector from Madhya Pradesh. The quotes are picked up from a WhatsApp conversation supposedly between the district collector of Shahdol district, Anubha Srivastava and deputy collector Puja Tiwari. The exchange has now gone viral on social media.

The conversation is said to have taken place before the recently concluded assembly elections in the state. Screenshots of the conversation, being widely shared online, show Srivastava telling Tiwari that the BJP should win from the Jaitpur assembly constituency if the latter wants a promotion.

Both women have called the chat 'fake' and Tiwari has lodged a police complaint. The police have booked a case against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the IT Act.

"The unidentified accused was booked under IT Act on Wednesday on the complaint of Tiwari and investigations are underway," district additional superintendent of police (ASP) Praveen Bhuria said.

The conversation on WhatsApp goes something like:

Tiwari: Ma'am the situation is under control in 2 sectors but not in Jaitpur. The Congress is leading and Uma Dhurve (Congress candidate from Jaitpur) has many supporters.

Srivastava: I want a clean sweep of the Congress. I will call the RO (Returning Officer) of Dehariya. Puja if you want to take the charge of SDM, then make the BJP win in Jaitpur.

Tiwari: Okay ma'am. I will manage it. But there won't be an inquiry, right?

Srivastava: I am there. If work hard, you will be made SDM as soon as the BJP government is formed.

Madhya Pradesh went to polls in November 2018. After a closely fought battle between the Congress and the BJP, the Kamal Nath-led Congress emerged victorious in the state. Congress won 114 seats in the 230-seat strong MP assembly, forming the government with the support of BSP, SP and Independents. The BJP saw three-time MP CM and strongman Shivraj Chouhan miss the finishing line by a whisker. The saffron party won 109 seats.

However, in Jaitpur, from where the conversation is supposed to have originated -- BJP's Manish Singh defeated Congress's Uma Dhurve by 70,063 seats.

The incident prompted the ruling Congress to declare that it would seek re-polling in the Jaitpur constituency, which it lost in the November 28 assembly polls.

"We are going to write to Election Commission to remove the collector and hold a re-poll in Jaitpur," district senior Congress leader and former MLA Rampal Singh told reporters on Friday.

"We want re-poll in Jaitpur. The incident is very serious," he added.

Looks like the district collector's words came true!

(with inputs from Hemendra Sharma in Bhopal)