MP Bypolls: Congress Plans Victory Celebration Even Before Results are Announced

Mungaoli/Kolaras (MP): Although inconsequential in terms of the strength inside state Assembly, the results of the by-election to two seats in Madhya Pradesh are expected to alter political equations within both Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The results are the last opportunity for a show of strength for the two parties before they lock horns later this year for the Assembly election. While the BJP has not given any signs as to what it expects from the bypolls, Congress is already gearing up for celebrations.

The IT Cell of the party had issued an invitation to media on Tuesday itself for the “victory” celebrations at the Pradesh Congress Committee office at 11am on Wednesday.

The voting in Kolaras and Mungaoli constituencies had taken place on February 24 and counting of votes will be held Wednesday. There are 22 and 13 contestants in fray for the two seats respectively.

Riding on mass support base of MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Congress is hoping for wins in both seats while the ruling BJP is hoping that three-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has enough left in the tank to pull through in the bypolls.

If insiders in both parties are to be believed, the Congress has emerged as the clear favourite for both seats. “The BJP failed to rein in its internal discontent which could make it pay heavily in the results,” a political analyst said.

The analyst said that a big loss for the BJP could set off alarm bells in the party, especially after it lost three bypolls in Rajasthan recently. He said that the desperation exhibited by the Shivraj government during the campaign was another evidence of the political undercurrents in the region.

If Scindia does help his party win at both the seats, it could give him a perfect platform to lead the Congress charge in Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress has been itching to dethrone the BJP since 2003.

The voting percentage, however, did not give any hint as to where the pendulum would swing. In Kolaras, the over 70 per cent votes were polled on Saturday, right in line with the 72.82 vote percentage in 2013 and 71.18 vote percentage in 2008.

Mungaoli seems no different as 77 per cent votes were cast for the bypoll, down slightly from the 77.49 per cent votes cast in 2013, but higher from the 76.27 per cent votes polled in 2008 assembly polls.