Counting of votes underway for Assembly elections held in 4 states; BJP set to form govt in MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh; Congress poised for absolute majority in Telangana

Newdelhi:3/12/23:Counting of votes for Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana is underway. As per the Latest trends, the BJP has taken a clear lead in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhatisgarh. The Congress is ahead in Telangana. Counting for Mizoram Assembly will be taken up on Monday.

In Rajasthan, BJP has won the majority with 104  seats and still leading on 11 others. The Congress has taken 60 seats and is leading on 9.  Bharat Adiwasi party has claimed 3  seats. Others have won 7 seats and leading on 5.  Voting was held in 199 out of 200 constituencies.  Election Commission has postponed the polls in one assembly seat following the death of a candidate.

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has won in Jhotwara constituency. Former state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has won from Jhalrapatan seat. Congress leader Sachin Pilot has won from Tonk assembly seat while Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is leading in the Sardarpura Assembly constituency.

In Madhya Pradesh, ruling BJP has won 92 seats and is leading in 71 seats. Congress has won 26 seats and leading in 40. One seat has gone to others.

Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh has won from Budhni seat by over 1 lakh votes. Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel are also leading. Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste of BJP has lost from Niwas(ST) constituency. State Home Minister Dr, Narrotam Mishra is trailing in Datia. Congress leader and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath is leading in Chhindwara.

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP is all set to regain power after five years in the state. The party has won 34 seats so far and is leading in another 21 seats. The ruling Congress got 19 seats and is leading in 15 seats.  Nine ministers of the Bhupesh Baghel government lost the election while only 3 incumbent ministers managed to win. Incumbent Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel got elected from the Patan seat by over 19 thousand votes but Deputy Chief Minister T S Singhdeo lost his seat by a mere 158 votes from Ambikapur. Former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh, state party President Arun Sao, Amar Agrawal, Lata Usendi, O P Choudhury, Lakhanlal Devangan  and Neelkanth Tekam have won their seats for the BJP. The party in charge Om Mathur who reached Raipur this evening said that the party’s central leadership would decide the Chief Ministerial candidate in the state. He thanked the voters of the state for showing trust in the promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. State BJP President Arun Sao also asserted that party would fulfill the poll promises.

In Telangana, The Congress has won 41 of the 119 seats and in 23 seats, the official declaration is yet to be announced. The ruling BRS, which was hoping for a hat-trick of victory, got 39 seats. The BJP ended up in the 3rd position with eight seats. The AIMIM won seven seats. CPI in alliance with Congress won the lone seat it contested. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao won from Gajwel but lost in Kamareddy. PCC president Revanth Reddy won Kodangal but lost Kamareddy. Venkataramana Reddy of BJP won the Kamareddy seat. BJP leader Etela Rajender lost both in Huzurabad and Gajwel.

Addressing the media conference in Hyderabad, AICC In-charge in Telangana Manikrao Thakare said, that Congress top leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi campaigned well and ‘all senior leaders collectively fought the election. PCC president Revant Reddy said the victory is for the people of Telangana. He dedicated the victory to the Martyrs of the separate state movement. He said 6-guarantees will be implemented as assured by the Congress party in the state. He thanked CPI, CPM, Telangana Jana Samiti. Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to go to Raj Bhavan later this evening.

Of the six MPs who contested the elections, Congress’ Uttam Kumar Reddy, Revanth Reddy and K. Venkat Reddy won the elections while three BJP MPs, Bandi Sanjay, Dharmapuri Aravind and Soyam Bapurao lost. Meanwhile, Congress leaders will meet Governor tomorrow and request her to invite the party to form the government.