MP: Patwari brushes off BJP claim, says Congress will win 15+ LS seats

Bhopal, Jan 4 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on Sunday claimed his party will win more than 15 of the 29 seats in the state in upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

He brushed aside claims of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party that it would win all 29 seats in the general elections, which are to be held in the first half of the year.

"By making such a claim, the BJP is challenging the voters. I will not make claims but results will show the truth. The vote share (in the November 2023 Assembly polls) shows Congress will win more than 15 Lok Sabha seats in MP," he said in a press conference in Gwalior.

In the 2023 Assembly polls, the BJP, which won 163 seats in the 230-member House, had a vote share of 48.62 per cent. The Congress won 66 seats with a vote share of 40.45 per cent.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress managed to win just Chhindwara seat, which is considered the bastion of former state unit chief Kamal Nath. His son Nakul Nath won the seat. The remaining 28 seats were won by the BJP.

Patwari said the Mohan Yadav government had failed to deliver on its promises made ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls.

Citing the recent rape incidents in Gwalior, Patwari said law and order had deteriorated.

The BJP had promised to raise the monthly financial aid under the Ladli Behana Yojana to Rs 3,000 but was now dilly-dallying on giving Rs 1,250, he alleged.

Asked about AICC spokesperson Alok Sharma being issued a notice for blaming Kamal Nath for the defeat in the 2023 Assembly polls, the party's general secretary in charge Jitendra Singh, who was present for the press conference, said the disciplinary committee will take appropriate action.

Earlier, meetings of the coordination committees of the party's Gwalior divisions were held as part of Lok Sabha poll preparations. PTI