Subhechcha Ganguly 
Madhya Pradesh is holding elections for 230 seats today, marking the start of the second round of the highly anticipated five-state assembly election. Today is also the last round of the two-phase elections for 70 seats in Chhattisgarh.The Congress and BJP have dominated the Madhya Pradesh electoral narrative since their intense campaigns served as the main attraction in the lead-up to the votes. With the exception of a two-year temporary Congress administration following the 2018 elections, the state has been primarily under BJP control for nearly 20 years. The Congress is fighting for power to unseat the saffron party, while the BJP wants to hold in power for another term.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan leading the charge, the BJP went all out in its campaign. On the other hand, the Congress designated Digvijaya Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath, and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge to confront the saffron party from the platform.The BJP asserted that it had removed the state from the “BIMARU” (laggard) category and promised a “corruption-free” government; however, the Congress’ electoral plan centred on conducting a caste-based survey of the state’s Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The fate of 2,533 state candidates will be determined by more than 5.9 crore voters today. More than 64,000 voting places opened for business at 7 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m.Senior Congressman Kamal Nath, the party’s candidate, claimed that voters in the state are enthusiastic, but he also accused the BJP of giving out money and alcohol to win over supporters. Hi, For a few more hours, the BJP can access administration, funds, and law enforcement. I received multiple calls and a video clip yesterday that purports to show voters being seduced with alcohol and cash.”
