Gains in Malwa-Nimar and Gwalior-Chambal regions contribute to BJP victory in MP

Bhopal: The BJP's impressive performance in politically crucial Malwa-Nimar and Gwalior-Chambal regions is one of the key factors behind the saffron party's resounding victory in Madhya Pradesh elections.

The BJP on Sunday cruised to a two-thirds majority in the MP assembly, winning 163 of the 230 seats, restricting the Congress to just 66.

The saffron party won 48 of the total 66 segments in the Malwa-Nimar region spread across 15 districts, a gain of 20 seats compared to 2018, decimating the Congress' tally to 17. Sailana segment in Ratlam district is won by Bharat Adivasi Party, a new entrant in the state politics.

In the 2018 assembly elections, Malwa-Nimar and Gwalior Chambal belts had hugely favoured Congress, which won 114 seats in the state at that time to grab power.

In the last elections, Congress had won 35 constituencies from the Malwa Nimar belt whereas BJP's tally fell to 28 from 57 seats it had won in 2013.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who won from Indore-1 seat, has been a prominent face from Malwa Nimar.

The Bharatiya Janata Party won more than half of the 34 seats in the Gwalior-Chambal region, where former Congress politician and present Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia holds pockets of influence, but several of those who had joined the party in 2020 after revolting against the Congress bit the dust.

In the 2018 elections, Congress had won 26 out of 34 seats in the Gwalior-Chambal region when Scindia was in the party. In the 2023 elections, the Congress ceded 10 seats to BJP in the absence of Scindia. The BJP now has 18 MLAs from Gwalior Chambal, a gain of 11 including one from BSP.

Among prominent faces in this region, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar won Dimani seat in Morena district but senior BJP leader and state home minister Narottam Mishra suffered a defeat on the home turf of Datia.

This time, the BJP added a varying number of seats to its tally in all major regions of Madhya Pradesh including Bundelkhand, Vindhya, Mahakoshal and the central region (Bhopal and Narmadapuram divisions).

The saffron party wrested four seats from Congress in the Bundelkhand region, which counts 26 constituencies, improving its tally to 21.

Overall in the Mahakoshal region which has 38 segments, the BJP has added eight seats to its previous tally, taking the latest seat count to 21, while the Congress' tally came down to 17 from the previous 24. Congress chief Kamal Nath's constituency Chhindwara falls under this region.

Union Minister and BJP's tribal face Faggan Singh Kulaste lost Niwas seat in Mandla district while his cabinet colleague Prahlad Singh Patel emerged victorious from the Narsinghpur constituency in Mahakoshal.

In the Vindhya region comprising 30 assembly segments, the BJP has won 25 constituencies, wresting one from Congress. The total seat count of the grand old party now stands at 5.

BJP leader and Lok Sabha member Ganesh Singh bit the dust from the Satna assembly constituency in Vindhya.

In the central region, comprising 36 assembly segments including the high-profile Budhni seat represented by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the BJP has won 31 seats wresting seven segments from Congress.

The Congress' strength in the central region, which includes the Bhopal and Narmadapuram revenue divisions, came down to 5 this time compared to 12 in 2018.

The BJP has garnered 48.55 per cent votes this time, a gain of more than seven per cent compared to 2018. The party got 41.02 per cent of votes in the 2018 elections.

On the other hand, the Congress' vote share remained almost the same at 40.40 per cent as against 40.89 per cent (2018) as its tally plunged from 114 to 66 seats.