MP local body polls: Contemplation call for BJP as Cong gains vital thrust

The Madhya Pradesh (MP) urban local body election results are one-of-a-kind, and both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are claiming ‘victory’. The BJP declared an overall ‘win’, while the Congress leadership claimed significant gains by winning five mayoral seats and losing two by razor-thin margins.

The BJP entered the elections with all 16 incumbent mayoral seats, but only won nine of them. Two of its mayoral candidates won by a razor-thin margin.

Burhanpur’s BJP candidate won by just 542 votes, while Ujjain’s mayoral candidate winning margin was 736 votes. The Congress blamed its defeat in Burhanpur on the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. Asaduddin Owasi’s candidate received over 10,000 votes, ensuring the BJP won the seat by a slim margin.

BJP bastion crumble amidst Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ingress

The BJP relinquished traditional strongholds such as Gwalior-Morena, Jabalpur, and Rewa, which it had won for decades. The BJP’s defeat in the mayoral elections comes as a surprise, given that the saffron party won all 16 mayoral seats in the previous elections (2014-15). The party suffered defeats in Gwalior and Morena - both strongholds of Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Tomar.

The BJP also suffered defeats in Jabalpur and Rewa. J P Nadda, the national president of the BJP, and Vishnu Dutt Sharma, the state president, have close relatives and family in Jabalpur, and the Congress has not won here in 23 years.

The reputation of senior leader Rajendra Shukla and Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam was on the line in Rewa.

Vindhya is one of MP’s poorest regions. It consists of the districts of Rewa, Satna, Sidhi, and Singrauli. The BJP nearly swept the region in previous Assembly elections.

Congress party’s General-Secretary and communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh expressed his delight at winning Gwalior in a tweet. “Nothing made me happier than the Congress’ victory in the Gwalior municipal corporation elections. The BJP has ‘crashed’ in this area,” the tweet said. It was clearly aimed at Scindia.

One of the most intriguing results came from Singrauli, where the AAP made a direct entry into the mayoral league with its candidate Rani Agrawal, who defeated BJP and Congress candidates. The AAP also won five corporator seats in Singrauli’s municipal corporation.

According to political analyst Anil Jain, the BJP is considered to have a strong urban base. MP has had direct mayoral elections for the past two decades. This is the saffron party’s worst performance.

“Winning five mayoral seats is a significant boost for the Congress, which has been reeling since losing its government to the BJP in early 2020 and subsequent by-election losses. Remember that the Congress was defeated in the 2014-15 mayoral elections. The legislative elections are only a year away. This result has given the Congress a shot in the arm to move forward with vigour,” says Jain.

Introspection imperative to BJP

The BJP National General-Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya - who is reportedly not on good terms with Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan - has been far more vocal about the unexpected loss.

“Gwalior’s demise is concerning. We must consider the reasons,” he said in an interview. “The CM has more faith in bureaucrats,” said Vijayvargiya, adding, “Workers for the party are equally important. He should believe in them as well.”

According to a BJP leader, candidate selection was critical in many seats.

“The party lost Gwalior due to a power struggle between Scindia and Tomar. It cost the party in Gwalior and Morena,” says the leader, adding, “The BJP leaders have been effusive in their praise for Congress’ candidate selection.” He cites the case of Vikram Singh Ahke of Chhindwara, who, at the age of 32, became MP’s youngest mayor.

The enthusiasm is palpable in the Congress camp.

“We won five municipal corporations, while AAP and an Independent won one each,” said Kamal Nath, MP Congress Committee president and former CM. As a result, the BJP has lost seven corporations. The BJP openly used police, administration, and money in these elections, but the Assembly election next year will provide a fitting response, says Nath.

K K Mishra, the Congress’ MP media in-charge, also accused the BJP of misusing the administration. “Look at the results from Burhanpur and Ujjain,” he says, noting that the margin is less than 800 votes. “We have every reason to believe that unethical tactics were employed in order to defeat the Congress party,” adds Mishra.

The Congress claims that the BJP benefited from local administration, but the Grand Old Party must do some soul-searching as well.

The Congress won five mayoral seats, but in most cases, the BJP controls the municipal corporation. Not only that, three sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly were also defeated in the elections.