Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Kamleshwar Dodiyar from the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) emerged as the sole third-party winner in the assembly elections. Dodiyar secured victory on Sailana seat in Ratlam by defeating Congress candidate Harsh Vijay Gehlot ‘Guddu’ by a margin of 4,618 votes.
This is the first time that the BAP, headquartered in Rajasthan, has registered a victory in Madhya Pradesh.
The BAP, which emerged from the Bharatiya Tribal Party in 2020, was formally launched in the state a few months before the elections. It fielded 25 candidates in tribal-dominated regions in the state.
Meanwhile, the vote share of the BSP was 3.5%, while Samajwadi Party, CPI and CPI (M) received 0.46%, 0.03%, and 0.01%, respectively.
Compared to 2018, BSP faced a decline. The party had won two seats out of 227 with a vote share of 5.01%. SP had secured 1 seat with a 1.30% vote share. Rambai Govind Singh and Sanjeev Singh were notable winners from the BSP and Rajesh Shukla from SP.
In 2013, the BSP contested 227 seats, securing a 6.29% vote share and winning four seats. Balveer Dandotiya, Satyaprakash Sakhawar, Usha Choudhary, and Panchu Lal Prajapati had emerged victorious.
The CPI and CPI (M) had a limited presence, contesting 18 and 13 seats in 2018, respectively, without securing any victories. Their vote shares stood at 0.10% and 0.04%, respectively.