BJP fears losing Madhya Pradesh? CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, party leaders run to fix cracks ahead of 2023 assembly polls

MP Assembly Election 2023: Madhya Pradesh assembly elections will be held towards the end of 2023. The BJP which lost the assembly polls in 2018 by a whisker managed to regain power in 2020 due to the defection of Congress MLAs. However, the path ahead for the BJP seems to be scabrous in the second-largest state. According to a report, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government has found out that the performance of a large chunk of its MLAs is unsatisfactory and they might not get public support again. To put the house to order again, the chief minister is holding a one-to-one meeting with underperforming MLAs. 

According to a report by Hindustan Times, an internal survey has outlined that of the 127 lawmakers of the BJP in the state, the performance of around 40 percent or around 50 MLAs has been unsatisfactory. The meeting may be the last chance or warning for the MLAs to get their acts together.  

Fearing anti-incumbency, the BJP has also decided to organise  'Vikas Yatra' events across Madhya Pradesh starting in February. During the event, the elected representatives of the party will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects. The decision was taken during a meeting of BJP leaders and CM Chouhan. 

The Madhya Pradesh assembly has 230 members and the majority mark is 116. MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, "It has been decided that all the ministers will take ground information by meeting and interacting with the district and divisional-level workers of the party." He also said that from January 4, the state government will start the Mukhyamantri Bhu-Adhikar Awas Yojana, a scheme to provide land rights for housing in rural areas, he added. 

The BJP has already been working on a multipronged strategy to defy anti-incumbency, iron out internal differences and boost public engagement. It was also reported that the party may drop 40-45 percent of MLAs to field fresh faces.

All these developments come months ahead of the crucial assembly polls. Given the outcome of the 2018 assembly polls which marked the end of 15-year-old BJP rule for a brief tenure, the saffron brigade cannot take anything for granted this time. On the other hand, the Congress has also been working to cash in on the deficiencies of the ruling regime and if the saffron party fails to correct its mistake on time, the result will be there in public for all to see.