MP Congress committee identifies 106 candidates for upcoming elections

The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee has identified 106 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections, including 66 in BJP strongholds.

Updated on: Aug 11, 2023, 24:36:39 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath said the people identified been told about it (File photo)

The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee has identified 106 candidates for the year-end assembly election in the state, said a senior Congress leader who asked not to be named.

Of the 106, 66 will be competing in seats that the party has not won in the last three assembly elections and which are strongholds of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The other 40 are sitting MLAs. The party has another 56 sitting lawmakers -- the house strength is 230 -- but it believes these MLAs need to do more before they are confirmed as candidates.

To be sure, the party has not publicly named any candidates.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath said the people identified been told about it and there is no need to publicly announce their names.

The Congress won 114 seats in the late-2018 assembly election and formed the government. But in March 2020, 28 lawmakers loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia left the party, resulting in the collapse of Kamal Nath government’s and the BJP’s return to power after just 15 months. The BJP subsequently won 19 out of 28 assembly seats in the by-polls in November 2020. Barring those 15 months, the BJP has been in power in the state since 2003.

“The candidates have been asked to start campaigning in their respective assembly seats. They were identified to end the dispute related to ticket distribution and also prevent last-minute infighting. The workers and office bearers have also been asked to support the candidates,” said a second Congress leader, who too asked not to be named.

The Congress insists that the selection was based on a survey of candidates and constituencies, and also factor in caste.

MP Congress Committee spokesperson KK Mishra said, “We will win this election with micro management and social engineering and that’s why candidates, who are performing the best in the survey, have been informed that their names have been finalised.”

However, the BJP mocked the decision and alleged the tickets have sold out. “First of all which Congress has finalised the names-- Rahul Gandhi’s, Digvijaya Singh’s or Kamal Nath’s? It is an open secret that the Congress sells tickets. These 106 must have made the highest bid but it won’t affect the result of the election,” said Ashish Agrawal, media in-charge, MP BJP.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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