Bhopal:
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest from his traditional Budhni constituency in Sehore district, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Monday in its fourth list of 57 candidates, including names of 24 ministers in Chouhan’s cabinet.
The BJP has so far announced candidates for 136 assembly seats and the opposition Congress is yet to declare any of its candidates for the 230- member assembly. The polls are slated for November 17. Votes will be counted on December 3 along with Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram, where polls are being held in November on different dates.
On his name being in the list, Chouhan said he was “grateful” to the central party leadership for giving him a ticket. “The names declared in the list have come as per the recommendations sent by the state. Now, out of our total 230 candidates, 136 have been declared and the rest of the list will also come soon,” he said.
On the Congress not declaring its candidate list, the chief minister alleged that the delay was due to infighting in the state’s opposition outfit.
{{/usCountry}}On the Congress not declaring its candidate list, the chief minister alleged that the delay was due to infighting in the state’s opposition outfit.
{{/usCountry}}The list of candidates includes public works minister Gopal Bhargava, home minister Narottam Mishra, civil supplies minister Bisahulal Singh, urban development minister Bhupendra Singh, medical education minister Vishwas Sarang, water resources minister Tulsi Silawat, transport minister Govind Singh Rajput, power minister Pradyuman Singh, industry minister Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon and cooperatives minister Arvind Singh Bhadoriya.
The BJP also gave tickets to eight MLAs who switched over from the Congress in 2020. Among the 57 names, there are five women and 52 male candidates.
In two lists, the BJP had announced 79 candidates, including three union ministers and four MPs. The candidates for 94 seats are yet to be declared.
“This list has all the names sent by the state leaders and that’s why there is no surprise factor,” a BJP leader said, declining to be named. “There can be surprise in remaining 94 seats as many sitting MLAs and even ministers can lose tickets.”
“The party leaders have performed well and ensured proper implementation of populist schemes to provide benefits to needy people,” BJP state president VD Sharma said. “There was no doubt on their tickets.”
However, the Congress said not even half of them would win. “In the list of 57, even half of them will not win because these ministers are the most corrupt. In the past three years, they did nothing for the common people but minted money through commission and corruption,” said state Congress spokesperson KK Mishra.