Local factors worked against BJP govt in Madhya Pradesh election: Pradhan

Some local factors worked against the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, which saw a close fight, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.

The BJP won 109 seats and the Congress bagged 114 in the polls, emerging as the single largest party in the 230-member assembly.

"In a democracy, the final decision of voters should be accepted. We accept the results," Pradhan, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh election in-charge, said at India Economic Conclave organised by Times Network.

"I have worked in Madhya Pradesh. We did not expect the fight to be so close. In MP, there were some local factors which worked against us.

"If we could have managed a few small things, then we would have retained power," he said without elaborating.

The Congress also emerged as the largest party in Rajasthan and wrested Chhattisgarh from the BJP.

Pradhan, however, said work done by the BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan helped the party "perform well" in these two states.

He said the BJP's performance in Chhattisgarh, which the party ruled for 15 straight years, was not what it had expected.

The petroleum and natural gas minister said 2019 Lok Sabha election would be fought on the agenda of development.

Asked why the reduction in excise duty on petrol ahead of the polls did not help the BJP in the three Hindi heartland states, Pradhan said the price cut was not linked to the state elections.

"The reduction in excise duty on petrol during the last few days was not due to the assembly elections, but we tried to give the benefit of cut in global crude oil prices to the people of the country," he said.

Even states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, where no elections were due, reduced excise duty on petrol to provide relief to the common man, he added.