Bhopal: State Congress president Kamal Nath exuded confidence that the party will win over 150 seats in the assembly election slated later this year. “We are confident of winning more than 150 seats in the Assembly polls. We are conducting a survey to zero in on the winning candidates. We will announce their names by September,” said the Nath while speaking at ‘Meet -The- Press’ programme, here on Monday.
The Congress currently has 57 MLAs in the state. “The BJP had set a target of winning more than 150 seats in its strongest bastion, Gujarat. Everyone knows what happened there. They were reduced to less than 100 seats (in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly),” the former Union minister said. Nath was responding to a question on the BJP setting a target of winning 200-plus seats in the state, where the saffron outfit is in power since 2003.
Nath said the Congress would launch its poll campaign on June 6 from Pipliya Mandi in Mandsaur district. He highlighted the failures of the state government and the Congress party stand on the various issues. Nath claimed that there was a high level of discontent among the people of Madhya Pradesh against the BJP government led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He stressed that the state’s industrial and agricultural has been crushed due to extraneous policies. “I am in the politics for last many years but I have never seen the scenario prevailing currently in the state.
Farmers are suffering because of loan, low MSP of their produces, electricity bills and others. Youths are not getting employment, women are not safe in the state, but the CM claims that they are running the state on the development track,” he added. The party would contest the polls by raising issues related to the farmers, youth, women and labourers, and also by highlighting the issue of corruption under the BJP rule, the Congress veteran said. He said that while working on various portfolios in UPA government he had sanctioned ample of funds to develop his native state, however, many MPs had accused him of being biased.
The veteran leader maintained that he was not hungry for any post after the election and that his only aim was to serve the people of the state. Replying to a query, he said he has not decided to contest the state assembly election, but entire decision depends upon the AICC instructions. Nath also evaded a directly reply when asked whether he and Madhya Pradesh Congress Campaign Committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia would contest the Assembly polls.
Nath and Scindia are currently Lok Sabha members from Chhindwara and Guna in the state respectively. “The party president will take a decision on it,” Nath said. He said the party would give tickets to those who had the potential to win and would not go by any other consideration such as which group they belonged to.Nath said that party is going to make every possible alliance to win the election “The SP, BSP and other parties will be contacted to give support in the elections,” said Nath.
