Madhya Pradesh election results 2018: All you need to know

The centrally located state of Madhya Pradesh will be keenly watched on December 11 when the results of the state assembly election results will be announced along with those of Rajasthan, Telangana, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh.

The 230-member house is expected to throw up a tight race between the ruling BJP and the Congress, with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan looking to return to power for a fourth consecutive term.

However, the two parties may face a tough fight from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP), who are banking on the state’s backward community population.

The BJP fielded candidates for all 230 seats while the Congress contested 229, leaving one seat, Jatara in Tikamgarh district, for the Sharad Yadav-led Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD).

Also read | Madhya Pradesh exit polls show BJP, Congress in dead heat

At least 2,716 candidates, of which, 9% are women, are contesting for the 200 seats.

The election was held in the state on November 28 and 75% of the 5.03 crore voters exercised their franchise, with around 1.64 lakh people having voted on an average in each constituency.

In the 2013 polls, BJP had bagged a whopping majority of 165 seats while Congress and BSP got 58 and 4. Three independent MLAs also won the polls.

Both the Congress and BJP, whose charge was led by party president Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, respectively, expressed confidence that they would win. BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley also campaigned for the BJP in the state.

Gandhi sought to rejuvenate the state unit by appointing veteran Kamal Nath as the Madhya Pradesh party chief in April this year and naming Jyotiraditya Scindia as the campaign leader.

The BJP also replaced its state president in Madhya Pradesh where its campaign it led by Chouhan. The BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for last 15 years and was perceived to be facing what some party leaders describe as a voter fatigue.

Gandhi attacked Modi and his government for alleged corruption and failure to fulfil promises made in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and by Chouhan in 2013.

Read | Exit polls predict photo finish in MP, Chhattisgarh; Congress ahead in Rajasthan