HomeNewsPhotosPoliticsIn pics | Will Mayawati’s BSP dent Congress’ chances in Madhya Pradesh?
In pics | Will Mayawati’s BSP dent Congress’ chances in Madhya Pradesh?
Congress is hopeful of dethroning the BJP, riding on a possible tide of anti-incumbency in the state. But BSP not allying with it could impact the outcome
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for 15 years. Congress has been calling this their chance to dethrone the saffron party, riding on a possible tide of anti-incumbency. (Image: shivrajsinghchouhan.com)
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Except for two brief Janata Party and Samyukta Vidhayak Dal governments, politics in Madhya Pradesh has been a binary contest between the BJP and the Congress. The third front, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), have not been key players so far. (Image: PTI)
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After weeks of intense seat-sharing talks between the Congress and the BSP, Mayawati abruptly announced her party would not ally with the Congress.
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She later said the alliance did not take shape as Congress was not willing to give BSP enough seats. Mayawati’s decision came as a major blow to the Congress.
In the 2013 elections, the vote share difference between the BJP and the Congress was 8.5 percent. BSP’s vote share was 6.29 percent. Going by the numbers, BSP would have added considerable weight to the Congress chances this time. (Image: Reuters)
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Out of the 230 constituencies, 34 fall in the Chambal-Gwalior region, which has high concentration of Scheduled Caste (SC) voters. SCs form the core of BSP’s supporters. This could hurt the Congress’ chances, especially in this region. (Image: PTI)
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Analysis shows that BSP has played spoiler for the Congress more number of times than for the BJP in the last three elections in the state. (Image: Reuters)
