BJP set for big win in heartland, Congress making comeback in Telangana

Riding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma, BJP were set to win state assembly elections today in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.

In Telangana, however, Congress was poised to return to power just months before fresh parliamentary elections.

BJP was able to keep anti-incumbency at bay in Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 seats in the legislature, by coasting towards a clear majority, but Congress failed to do so in Rajasthan (199 seats in the assembly) and Chhattisgarh (90 seats).

In Telangana, however, Congress was poised for a landslide victory in the race for the 119-seat state legislature.

Modi had led the BJP's campaign in the elections which will set the momentum for the 2024 polls, which have seen BJP and Congress go head to head in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Telangana was a direct contest between the Congress and the K Chandrashekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) that was hoping for a hat-trick.

In rural and semi-urban areas, both traditionally BRS strongholds, the Congress took advantage of the anti-incumbency sentiment surrounding K Chandrashekar Rao's government.

BJP offices across Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh celebrated as trends emerged from the Election Commission's vote-counting centers.

"People have blessed BJP in three states ... endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and rejected Congress's false promises," federal minister and senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi said.

Madhya Pradesh, where BJP has been in power for 18 years, the ruling party seemed set for a fourth consecutive term in power with leads in 161 seats and the Congress trailing far behind in 66 seats.

In adjacent Rajasthan, the BJP was set to oust Congress with a decisive win in a state that has traditionally alternated between the two parties.

While the saffron party was ahead in 111 seats in Rajasthan, well past the halfway mark, Congress had leads in 72. Voting was held in 199 seats as polling in one was put off due to the death of a candidate.

"The way we are moving towards a huge majority in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, it is clear that the people trust Modi's guarantee and have rejected the Congress's gimmicks," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

The day began with both parties neck and neck but as counting continued, the BJP consolidated its surge.

Senior BJP leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh told reporters in the state's capital city Raipur that the people had rejected Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Echoing his party colleagues, he said the people had demonstrated their faith in Modi's work and guarantees and not in Baghel's promises.

Congress, hoping desperately for political revival, had a silver lining in Telangana, where it was poised to take power from BRS. The 119-member house was led by Congress in 64 seats, leaving BRS with leads in 40 seats.