After MP bypoll, BJP will come back to power, claims Chouhan

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday claimed his party would return to power in the state after the upcoming Jaura Assembly bypoll.

The Jaura bypoll has been necessitated due to the death of its Congress MLA Banwari Lal Sharma on December 21.

No date has been declared for the bypoll though rules specify that it must be held within six months of the seat becoming vacant.

"Looking at the outcry among the people, the BJP will return to power in the state, not just win Jaura (in Morena district)," he told reporters here.

"No one should act with the arrogance of power. There are some rights of the opposition in a democracy. It is the Congress' mistake to adopt a mentality of crushing the opposition. This mentality would lead to its debacle," Chouhan claimed.

Earlier, Chouhan paid tribute to Vijayaraje Scindia, one of the founders of the BJP, on her death anniversary.

The Congress, however, hit back and said Chouhan was "day-dreaming".

"Ever since the Congress came to power in MP, it is the regular claim of the BJP that it would come back to power. The people of the country are ensuring the BJP's defeat as we can see from results of recent Assembly polls in several states. Chouhan should stop day-dreaming," said MP Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi.

In the 230-member MP Assembly, the Congress has 114 seats, while the BJP has 108.

The Kamal Nath government in the state is supported by four Independents, two BSP MLAs and one Samajwadi Party legislator.