The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won a resounding victory in the recent Panchayat elections in Madhya Pradesh while Congress received a drubbing, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday.
As Congress too has claimed to have performed well in the elections which were not held on party symbols, Shivraj Singh Chouhan dared the opposition party to release a list of winning candidates affiliated to it.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won a resounding victory in the recent Panchayat elections in Madhya Pradesh while Congress received a drubbing, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday.
As Congress too has claimed to have performed well in the elections which were not held on party symbols, Chouhan dared the opposition party to release a list of winning candidates affiliated to it. “BJP emerged victorious in a one-sided manner in all three local bodies. People have supported the party in a major way in villages, towns and cities,” the CM told in an interaction at his residence here as the results of elections for Zila Panchayat presidents came in.
Out of 23,000 village Panchayats, BJP-supported candidates won the post of Sarpanch in 90 per cent or 20,613 places, he said. As many as 625 BJP-supported candidates won unopposed, he added.
Similarly, in 312 Janpad Panchayats, BJP-supported candidates won the posts of president and vice-president in 227 bodies and 20 others who were affiliated to the party also won, the CM said, adding that Congress won in only 64 Janpad Panchayats. In the elections for Zila Panchayat president and vice-president, BJP-supported candidates won in 41 out of 51 districts of the state, said Chouhan
Urban Development Minister Bhupendra Singh and Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang were present during the interaction, among others. When pointed out that both BJP and Congress have claimed to have done well in Janpad elections, Chouhan said, “We have issued a list of winners with names and places. Let them come out with their list. We will be holding a meeting (of winning candidates) here soon and let them count."
Congress has been wiped out at the ground level in Panchayat polls, he claimed. In elections to municipal corporations, municipal councils and Nagar Parishads which were contested on party lines, the BJP won in 3,468 wards, the chief minister said. Out of 255 Nagar Parishads, BJP won 231, he said, to prove his point that it was a lopsided victory.
“People's faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his development works, especially welfare schemes, and the state government's programmes led to this spectacular success,” Chouhan said. On Congress's allegations that BJP misused police and administrative machinery in the elections, Chouhan said if it was true, how did Congress win in some places.
"This is just an excuse to hide their weakness," the chief minister said. He also took potshots at veteran Congressman Digvijaya Singh without naming him, asking whether it behoved a senior leader to prevent a woman voter from casting her vote.
Chouhan was apparently referring to Singh camping along with other party leaders in front of a district panchayat office where voting for district panchayat president and vice-president took place. Asked if Panchayat polls were a "semi-final" before the Assembly elections due in November 2023, Chouhan said, “Every election is important. I don't consider them as semi-final or final. But it is clear that people's support and blessings are with the BJP.”
Asked if it would be more difficult to fulfil people's rising expectations after this victory, Chouhan said, “(Former CM) Kamal Nath used to say that `Mama' (as Chouhan is popularly known) had left coffers empty when he came to power in 2018. But I have been saying that there is no shortage of funds at all. What was lacking was willpower.
“We have sufficient funds and resources. I have been holding meetings of revenue officials every month. We always strive to enhance resources. Last year we had thought that Budget would be of particular size. Then we revised it again and brought in Rs 7,000-8,000 crore of additional funds,” he said. This time too his government has revised the budget prepared by officials upwards for fulfilling the government's targets, the chief minister said.
"We have collected nine per cent more revenue than the target we had set and this is possible only when you have willpower,” Chouhan said. “Where there is a will, there is a way," he added.
(With PTI Inputs)