Bhopal: The BJP has started preparations for the 2023 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The party on Thursday held a meeting with senior leaders of the two states, including CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and former chief minister Raman Singh. There are possibilities being expressed that the BJP may replace some ministers in Madhya Pradesh. Here the party is trying to retain power by securing a majority of the votes by securing more than 50 per cent votes. At the same time, the neighbouring state is likely to enter the election with a new face. Experts point out that in the meeting on Madhya Pradesh, discussions were held about the cabinet reshuffle. At the same time, the issue of the appointment of Councils and Boards was also included in the discussion. There is speculation that the central leadership is considering to change some of the faces of the state government in the wake of the anti-incumbency wave.
An official said, "There is a possibility of some new faces being inducted in the state cabinet and vacant posts will also be filled up in many councils and boards." However, there is little chance of a repeat of a Gujarat-like situation here. Gujarat is going to polls this year and the party had already changed the entire cabinet with the chief minister. In the 2018 elections, the BJP's seats were reduced from 165 to 109. At the same time, the vote percentage also came down to 41 percent. Earlier, the number was a little over 43 percent. However, after senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP, the party was able to regain power in the state.
Bjp national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state in-charge Murlidhar Rao, state president VD Sharma, BJP general secretary BL Santosh, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, state general secretary Hitanand Sharma and state minister Narottam Mishra were present in the meeting. The BJP, which lost Chhattisgarh in 2018, is also upset about the party's performance in the by-election. Recently, the party lost the Khairagarh assembly by-election. Earlier, this seat was in the BJP's account. Another functionary said, "The BJP will have to double its efforts to return to power in Chhattisgarh. For this, the party has prepared a programme keeping in mind the OBC and tribal communities. It is estimated that the party fought the elections with a new face in the state. Former Chief Minister Singh, state president Vishnu Dev Sai and state general secretary Pawan Sai were present at the meeting. Interestingly, the party has started working to strengthen the hold among tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
