Do not fall into the “trap” of smaller political parties as there are only two main parties in Madhya Pradesh - the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Sunday, in a message to the voters of the State, which goes to polls next month.
In a video message posed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the former M.P. Chief Minister said, “There are only two parties, especially in Madhya Pradesh. Either the Congress will form the government or the BJP. These small outfits are not going to form a government.”
“So, I appeal to all voters to not fall into their trap. The public wants a change and it will only take place when [you] form a Congress government to end the 20-year-long misgovernance in the State. Under [Pradesh Congress Committee president] Kamal Nath ji’s leadership, we will all work together and defeat the BJP,” he said.
Apart from the BJP and the Congress, parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in an alliance with the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Aazad Samaj Party (ASP) - Kanshi Ram have also fielded their candidates on several seats.
Mr. Singh’s message is seen as an attempt to prevent the division of votes on several seats.
The Congress and Akhilesh Yadav-led SP had earlier held discussions for a possible tie-up in the State, which resulted in a failure and a bitter war of words among the leaders of the two outfits.
The SP and the BSP, both Uttar Pradesh-based parties, have a decent hold in regions with close proximity with U.P. such as the Vindhya region where the AAP is also trying to make inroads this time around. The BJP had nearly swept the region by winning 24 out of 30 seats in the region while the Congress had only bagged six.
The GGP, on the other hand, has a support base in parts of the tribal-dominated Mahakoshal region. Led by Chandra Shekhar Aazad, the ASP has also fielded its candidates to eye the more than 15% Dalit voters of the State.
Mr. Singh also hit out at the BJP and accused it of “spreading misconception” regarding his relationship with Mr. Nath.
“To hide factionalism in its State unit, the BJP is trying to spread all sorts of misconceptions about the Congress and especially about me and Kamal Nath ji,” he said.
Denying that there was any rift between him and Mr. Nath, he urged the party supporters to not pay heed to the “rumours” and that the Congress was fighting the polls unitedly.
