Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed confidence that he would return to power for the fourth consecutive term as the state began voting to elect the 230-member Assembly on Wednesday.
Speaking to CNN-News18 ahead of casting his vote in Budhni, Chouhan also denounced ‘gotra politics’ by the BJP and dismissed speculation that this was his toughest election yet.
“Polling today will determine the future of Madhya Pradesh. Your vote today will help farmers and the poor. This vote is not for an individual but for the whole of MP. I am very confident that the BJP will return to power with full majority,” he said, urging people to exercise their franchise in large numbers.
Taking on the Congress, he said, “There is no close fight. The BJP will get full majority. ‘Gotra’ politics should not decide the outcome of elections. I won't say this is toughest fight of my political career.”
Chouhan was referring to Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Pushkar lake in poll-bound Rajasthan, following which a priest claimed that the Congress chief had revealed his ‘gotra’ as ‘Duttatreya’, making him a Kashmiri Brahmin.
While Chouhan is in the hunt for a fourth term, the Congress is hoping wrest the state that was once its stronghold. Chouhan, in office since 2005, is seeking re-election from Budhni in Sehore district.
The BJP is contesting all the 230 seats, while the Congress has fielded 229 candidates, leaving one seat, Jatara in Tikamgarh district, for its ally, Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD).
The BSP has fielded 227 candidates, while the SP is contesting on 52 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), contesting the Madhya Pradesh elections for the first time, has fielded 208 candidates.
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