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Madhya Pradesh Minister Says PM Modi, CM Chouhan Will ‘See BJP Through’

Opposition to demonetisation, GST will not affect BJP's prospects, said minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia.
Former Madhya Pradesh Commerce Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a file photo.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Former Madhya Pradesh Commerce Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a file photo.

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a tough contest in Madhya Pradesh, but state cabinet minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia said the brands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would "see the party through" in the state.

She predicted that the BJP, which has been in power in the state since 2003, would get "116-118 seats" in the state. Official numbers from the Election Commission show that the Congress is leading in 110 Seats and the BJP in 108.

115 is the halfway mark in the 230-seat assembly. In 2013, the BJP had won 165 seats, Congress 58 and BSP four.

"There is a little bit of voter tiredness and anti-incumbency," said Scindia, who represents the Shivpuri assembly constituency.

The results now depend on which MLA "does how much work in their area", said the daughter of erstwhile royal and Janata party leader Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia. The minister claimed that she herself had taken advantage of the BJP's "game-changing programmes".

"CM is not responsible for making sure that the vidhayak does everything in their area. There is a certain amount of responsibility left with the vidhayak about this. If everybody had done what they should have done, this tight position would not have happened," she said.

The long-time Madhya Pradesh minister conceded that factors like farmers' unrest, campaign against the Goods and Sales Tax and demonetisation by the opposition did contribute making the elections a close contest.

But she also termed these issues as "small" and "stray", which did not affect the overall prospects of the party.

"The brand recognition of both the PM and CM will see us through this. The programs that they have done completely override any small issue that people are making out about GST and demonetisation," she said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.