Unfriendly fire

Internal strife remains a major concern for both the BJP and the Congress as they prepare for assembly elections coming up later this year

- SRAVANI SARKAR

ON THE LAST DAY OF 2022, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi managed to ignite the political situation in Madhya Pradesh with a prediction that his party will sweep the assembly polls in the state due later this year. “The BJP will not be seen anywhere there.... There is a total undercurrent in Madhya Pradesh, a [Congress] storm out there,” Rahul said at a news conference in Delhi.

Rahul’s assertion came just a few days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Madhya Pradesh, his third in the past five months. The BJP government in Bhopal led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan is banking heavily on Modi’s visit. The prime minister will inaugurate the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan (PBS) in the state’s commercial capital, Indore, and will later kickstart the annual Global Investors Summit (GIS), virtually. The twin mega events from January 8 to 12, which will focus on the sociocultural and economic incentives and political gains, is expected to herald the campaign call of the BJP. And the focus will be on Modi, the party’s electoral trump card. In a recent meeting of its senior state leaders, the BJP gave the slogan, ab ki baar 200 paar, (going beyond 200 seats this time).