Congress claims support of 121 MLAs in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: Congress State President Kamal Nath, party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and other leaders leave after a meeting with Governor Anandiben Patel to stake claim to form the government at Raj Bhawan, in Bhopal, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. (PTI Photo)(PTI12_12_2018_000080B)

The Congress has the support of 121 MLAs in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, party spokesperson Narendra Saluja claimed Wednesday. The Congress won 114 seats in the state polls, but was two short of the simple majority mark of 116 in the 230-member Assembly.

"With the support of BSP's two, SP's one and four independent candidates, the Congress' tally is 121 in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly," Saluja told reporters at the Raj Bhawan after Congress leaders met Governor Anandiben Patel.

Senior Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Digvijay Singh, Arun Yadav and Vivek Tankha, met the governor to stake claim to form the government in the state.

"The Congress has emerged as the single largest party with majority support. The BSP, the SP and Independents have assured their support in favour of the Congress," Nath, the state Congress chief, said in a letter to the governor.

He further requested the governor in the letter to call the Congress to form government in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which ruled the state for 15 years, got 109 seats in the elections.

However, it edged ahead of the Congress in the vote share by a slender margin, bagging 41 percent of the total votes polled, while the Congress got 40.9 percent.

Assembly Elections 2018: Read the latest news, views and analysis here