The electoral battle will begin from November 7, when voting will be held in all 40 seats of Mizoram and 20 seats of Chhattisgarh. The remaining 70 seats of Chhattisgarh, along with all 230 constituencies of Madhya Pradesh will be contested on November 17, followed by the voting in all 200 seats of Rajasthan on November 23, and all 119 seats of Telangana on November 29.
The results will be declared by the polling body on December 3. Here’s a look at how the five states voted in the last Assembly elections, held in 2018.
Madhya Pradesh
The central Indian state had voted out the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the last elections, thereby ending the 15 years of chief ministership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
In a close contest, the Congress led by Kamal Nath ended up winning 114 seats, the BJP was a close runner-up with 109 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won in two constituencies. Four independents and one candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP) were also victorious.
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In terms of vote share, however, the BJP had secured the highest electoral share of 41.02 percent, followed by the Congress which cumulatively won 40.89 percent of the votes.
With support from SP, BSP and independents, Nath succeeded in forming a government and taking oath as the chief minister. The government, however, lasted for less than 16 months as Jyotiraditya Scindia, then a Congress leader, rebelled and resigned from the party. His exit was followed by 22 MLAs, who were his loyalists, quitting the Congress as well and following him into the BJP.
Chouhan returned as the chief minister in March 2020.
Chhattisgarh
One of the most triumphant victories recorded by the Congress in recent years was the 2018 poll battle in Chhattisgarh. Out of power for 15 years, the party succeeded in ousting the incumbent BJP by winning 68 seats – more than two-third – of the 90-member Assembly.
The BJP was reduced to only 15 seats, 34 less than what it had won in the 2013 polls. Sitting chief minister Raman Singh had to vacate office after 15 years following the election debacle.
In terms of vote share, the Congress bagged 43 percent of the total votes, whereas, the BJP could retain only 33 percent.
Bhupesh Baghel was sworn-in as the chief minister for his maiden term, and is currently leading the Congress campaign in the state.
Rajasthan
One of the states that is known for flipping power at every five years is Rajasthan. The 2018 polls in the state were no different, as the incumbent BJP government led by then chief minister Vasundhara Raje was voted out.
The Congress, then led by the combined leadership of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, ended up winning 100 out of the 200 seats, whereas, the BJP was reduced to 79 constituencies. 13 Independent candidates, 6 from BSP, 3 from Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, 2 from CPI(M), 1 from RLD and 2 from Bharatiya Tribal Party were also victorious.
In terms of vote share, the Congress secured 39.03 percent of the votes, whereas, the BJP trailed with 38.08 percent.
With support from some independents and smaller party MLAs, the Congress formed a government, and Gehlot was chosen as the chief minister.
Telangana
This was the second Assembly election in Telangana since the state’s formation, and the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) ended up winning the polls with a stronger mandate.
The K Chandrasekhara Rao-led party won 88 seats, 25 more than its previous tally, whereas, the Congress won 19 constituencies – two less as compared to 2014. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) emerged as the third-largest party, winning 7 seats. The Telegus Desam Party (TDP) could win only two Assembly segments, and the BJP was reduced to 1.
In terms of vote share, the TRS secured 46.9 percent of the total votes, Congress 28.4 percent, BJP 6.98 percent, TDP 3.5 percent and AIMIM 2.7 percent.
Rao, also known as KCR, was sworn-in as the chief minister for a second term.
Mizoram
The Mizo National Front (MNF), a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), stormed to power in the Northeastern state in the 2018 elections, ending the 10-year rule of the Lal Thanhawla-led Congress government.
MNF ended up winning 26 out of the state’s 40 Assembly seats, whereas, the Congress was reduced to five constituencies — from 34 it had won in 2013. The Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), which did not have any MLA before the elections, ended up emerging as the primary opposition party with 8 seats. The BJP had won from 1 constituency.
On electoral share basis, MNF at the top with 37.7 percent votes, Congress bagged 29.98 percent, ZPM 22.9 percent and the BJP bagged 8.09 percent.
Zoramthanga was elected as the new chief minister following the polls.
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Updated: 10 Oct 2023, 08:37 PM IST