madhya-pradesh-elections

Updated: Dec 12, 2018 08:58 IST

The Congress, which was running neck and neck with the BJP in the Madhya Pradesh assembly election, ended up the single largest party with 114 seats, two short of a majority in the 230-member assembly. The BJP won 109. Both parties had almost the same vote share at around 41% and the difference of votes polled by the parties across the state was only 47,827.

With none of the two parties getting a majority at 116 seats, smaller parties and Independents will play a crucial role in deciding who forms the next government in the state, ruled by the BJP for the last 15 years. The Congress reached out earlier, said sources, to the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party which won two and one seats. It also contacted regional player Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) and independents who won the remaining four seats.

Read: Officials blame ‘new rules’ for delay in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan vote count

Mayawati’s BSP said it will “try and ensure the BJP does not form government. Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, “The ideology of SP, BSP and the Congress is the same - different from that of the BJP.”

The Congress, while snatching Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan from the BJP, has also made massive gains in Madhya Pradesh at the cost of the BJP. In the 2013 poll, the BJP had won 165 seats, getting a comfortable majority in the Assembly, while the Congress had won only 58 seats.

For full coverage on Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, click here

Exit polls last week had predicted a tight race in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan has sought a fourth straight term as Chief Minister. Since then, both parties have been working on plan B to rope in smaller parties and Independents in case of a hung assembly.

Senior leaders in both parties had confirmed on condition of anonymity that they were working on permutations and combinations to finalise plans to ensure they could get their support to form government if required.

Read: Assembly elections results 2018: Congress looks at strong finish, takes 2 states; Telangana picks KCR again

Polling was held on November 28 during which 38.9 million voters out of the more than 50 million voters cast their votes at more than 65,300 polling booths across the state for 230 seats. The turnout rose from 72.69 % in 2013 assembly elections to 75.05%.

For full coverage on assembly elections, click here