BSP announces names of eight candidates for MP bypolls

Twenty-two Congress lawmakers resigned in March to bring down chief minister Kamal Nath’s government in the state and necessitated bypolls to the seats they vacated

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday announced its first list of eight candidates for the bypolls to Madhya Pradesh’s 27 assembly constituencies even as the Election Commission (EC) is yet to announce their schedule.

The eight BSP candidates will contest seats in the Gwalior-Chambal region that are reserved for scheduled castes. (ANI)

The eight will contest seats in the Gwalior-Chambal region that are reserved for scheduled castes (SC), the party’s traditional voter base.

Twenty-two Congress lawmakers resigned in March to bring down chief minister Kamal Nath’s government in the state and necessitated bypolls to the seats they vacated. The resignations paved the way for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s return to power in the state.Three more Congress lawmakers resigned from the state assembly and joined the BJP in July. The remaining two seats had fallen vacant due to the death of the sitting lawmakers.

In the 230-member state assembly, the BJP has 107 lawmakers, Congress 97, BSP three and Samajwadi Party (SP) two. There are also four independent members in the House. After the bypolls, the majority mark in the state assembly will be 116.

State Congress spokesman Bhupendra Gupta said even in 2018 the BSP contested elections against the Congress but got just three seats. “The voters of the Congress are committed and the BSP’s decision to contest the byelections will not affect our prospects.”

BJP leader Rajneesh Agrawal said every party has the right to field its candidates. “But we are going to win all the seats in the bypolls.”

State BSP office secretary CL Gautam said, “The next list of the candidates will follow. We will contest all the 27 seats.”

The other parties are yet to announce their candidates for the bypolls that are expected to be held by September.

Political analyst Bhagwandev Israni said, “There is not going to be a major difference in the political situation during the bypolls in comparison to what state witnessed during 2018 assembly elections. Though BSP has some base in Gwalior-Chambal region and it can affect the prospects of a few candidates in certain constituencies, the contest will be mainly between the Congress and BJP.”