Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Counting of votes in three assembly seats and Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency, where byelections were held on October 30, will begin at 8 AM on Tuesday amid tight security, an official said.
According to a release issued by the MP Chief Electoral Officer on Monday evening, taking out victory processions during the counting of votes or after the announcement of results is not allowed. Returning officers will hand over the certificate to winning candidates, accompanied by two people.
A straight fight between BJP and Congress is expected in the Assembly segments of Jobat (reserved for ST) in the Alirajpur district, Prithvirpur in the Niwari district and Raigaon (reserved for SC) in the Satna district and the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat.
The Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency and Raigaon Assembly seat were held by the BJP, while Jobat and Prithvipur Assembly seats were with the Congress.
On the eve of the counting of votes, the ruling BJP and opposition Congress claimed they will sweep all the four bypolls.
"We are going to win all the four seats. I am confident. Already the Congress has given a walkover (to BJP) in the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat. Their leaders did not even campaign there properly knowing that their defeat is imminent," Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Neha Bagga claimed.
On the other hand, Congress said the party would win all four seats, including Khandwa with a comfortable margin.
"We are going to win all the four seats for sure. We are going to win Jobat by a margin of 5,000 votes, Prithvipur by over 10,000 votes, Raigaon by over 9000 votes and Khandwa with a comfortable margin," MP Congress spokesman Bhupendra Gupta said.
A total of 48 candidates were in the fray in these four constituencies where byelections were necessitated due to the death of sitting MLAs and an MP.
The three assembly constituencies had recorded an average of 65.32 per cent polling while the Khandwa seat saw a voter turnout of 63.88 per cent.
In Khandwa, the BJP fielded former district panchayat president Gyaneshwar Patil, denying the ticket to Harshvardhan Chauhan, the son of sitting MP Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan whose demise necessitated the bypoll. The Congress fielded former MLA Rajnarayan Singh Purni.
In Jobat, Sulochana Rawat was the BJP's nominee against Congress candidate Mahesh Patel. The seat fell vacant due to the death of sitting Congress legislator Kalawati Bhuria.
Rawat, a former MLA, joined the BJP recently after quitting Congress. She had won from Jobat on Congress's ticket in 1998 and 2008.
In the Raigaon seat, the BJP fielded Pratima Bagri, the daughter-in-law of MLA Jugal Kishore Bagri whose death necessitated the bypoll. She faced Congress' Kalpana Verma.
Verma was defeated by Jugal Kishore Bagri in 2018.
In Prithvipur, the BJP fielded former Samajwadi Party leader Shishupal Singh against Congress's Nitendra Rathore, the son of former minister Brajendra Singh Rathore whose death caused the bypoll.
During the campaigning, Congress had mainly raised the issue of the shortage of fertilisers and accused the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of stopping the farm loan waiver scheme launched by the previous Kamal Nath-led government.
