Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi launched her party’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh with a rally in Jabalpur on Monday. She levelled serious charges against the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, accusing it of deep-seated corruption and failing to create jobs. Gandhi listed alleged corruptions, including in Vyapam, ration distribution, mining, e-tendering, and Covid-19 management. She claimed the BJP government had engaged in 225 “scams” during its 220-month rule in the state.
Announcing her party’s plans, Gandhi said that if Congress were voted into power in Madhya Pradesh, it would provide Rs 1,500 per month to women, offer LPG cylinders at Rs 500, provide 100 units of electricity free, implement the old pension scheme, and forgive farmers’ loans. Addressing the BJP’s poor record in job creation, she said that only 21 government jobs had been generated in the state in the last three years under the BJP’s rule. Gandhi also criticised the government for its alleged indifference towards cultural heritage, referring to damage to idols in the Mahakal Lok corridor in Ujjain due to poor maintenance. Gandhi mocked the BJP’s “double-engine government” narrative, referring to recent Congress victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka where BJP governments were ousted. The term “double engine government” is often used by the BJP to claim developmental advantages when the party is in power at both the state and central level. She further criticised Union Minister and former Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia, accusing him and other leaders of abandoning Congress ideology for power. This criticism was in reference to the MLAs loyal to Scindia defecting from the Congress in March 2020, causing the fall of the Kamal Nath government and paving the way for Chouhan’s return to power. Attacking Chouhan’s ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme, she questioned the CM’s efforts for women’s welfare over the past 18 years. She also claimed that during the 15-month tenure of Nath, loans of up to Rs 1 lakh of 27 lakh farmers were waived, and 1,000 cow shelters were built. Earlier in the day, Gandhi performed rituals along the banks of the Narmada River, expressing commitment to keeping the river clean. She was accompanied by Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath and other senior leaders.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had won 24 of the 38 Assembly seats in the Mahakoshal or Jabalpur division, which has a significant number of tribal voters, with BJP winning 13. This area will be a crucial battleground in the upcoming elections.
