Madhya Pradesh Elections 2023: Everything you need to know

The 230 assembly constituencies are going through polling in a single phase in Madhya Pradesh on Friday. The results of the ongoing elections will be declared on December 3. Both the incumbent BJP and the Congress are the political forerunners in the state.

Election Timings
Voting began in Madhya Pradesh from 7:00am in the morning and will continue till 6:00pm in the evening, with the exception of the Naxal areas of Balaghat, Mandla, and Dindori, where elections will be conducted from 7:00am to 3:00pm.

Total Candidates
2,533 candidates are in the election fray, including 2,280 men, 252 women. This election is also witnessing a third gender is contesting elections in MP. 35 seats have been set aside for the scheduled castes and 47 for the scheduled tribes.
Both BJP and Congress have fielded candidates in all 230 seats. The Samajwadi Party is contesting in 71 seats, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, has fielded candidates in 183 seats. The Gondwana Gantantran Party has fielded 45 candidates. Another political party of the INDIA alliance, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has entered with 66 candidates from 66 seats, and the Janata Dal (U) is running in 10 constituencies.

Key CandidatesIncumbent Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan - Budhni 

State Congress President Kamal Nath - Chhindwara

BJP Lok Sabha MPs:

Rakesh Singh- Jabalpur 

Ganesh Singh- Satna 

Riti Pathak - Sidhi 

BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijaywrgiya - Indore - 1 

Former CM Arjun Singh's sons Ajay Singh and Jaivardhan Singh  - Churhat and Raghogarh 

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Poll Promises

Leading with the slogan “MP Ke Mann Mein Modi" and "Modi Ke Mann Mein MP”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed 14 public gatherings. The Prime Minister and several other BJP leaders, including Unio Minister Amit Shah, launched scathing attacks on Congress and stated that Madhya Pradesh will become ‘BIMARU’ again if Congress comes back to power in the state. Moreover, BJP has also stated that MP will have deal with issues of corruption and lawlessness if Congress heads the state. In addition, the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has also found several mentions during the course of BJP’s electoral campaign. Free ration to the poor and LPG cylinders priced at Rs 450 were also promised.

The Congress on the other and has focused on issues such as the upliftment of the OBC’s who constitute about 48% of the total population of Madhya Pradesh. Alleging that a 50% "commission raj" was in place in the state, the Congress attacked the incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government over unemployment and price increases. The Old Pension Scheme, a caste census, ₹25 lakh health insurance coverage for all Madhya Pradesh residents, and ₹1500 monthly Nari Samman Nidhi for women, featured in the promises made by the Congress.

Voter Turnout
As per the Election Commission, a total of 5,60,60,925 voters, that include 2,88,25,607 men, 2,72,33,945 women, and 1,373 of the third gender are eligible to cast their votes. Madhya Pradesh recorded a 60% voter turnout, as of 3:00pm on Friday.

2018 Recalled

Back in 2018, the Congress led by Kamal Nath came to power with 114 seats, and formed the government with the help of the BSP, SP, and independent MLAs. However, the Kamal Nath regime was toppled by Jyotiraditya Scindia and the Congress MLAs in March 2020, and paved the way for Shivraj Singh and the BJP government to come to power.