In their battle for heart of India, BJP, Congress play mind games with their respective yatras

The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress are currently engaged in a fierce ''yatra politics'' in Madhya Pradesh as they vociferously raise issues important for them and reach out to voters ahead of the year-end assembly polls with their promises and policies.

Senior figures in both the national parties are criss-crossing the state with their message for voters and electoral agenda.

During their pre-election marches in the central state, the Congress has raised issues like corruption, unemployment, atrocities on Dalits and rising inflation, while the BJP has attacked the opposition on matters such as the Sanatan Dharma controversy, development and appeasement politics.

Both the parties are claiming ''huge'' public support for their pre-poll marches.

The saffron outfit rolled out the 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' (March for People's Blessings) from September 3 to reach out to voters, while the Congress launched its own 'Jan Akrosh Yatra' on Tuesday, claiming there was public anger against the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

On the second day of its mass outreach programme on Wednesday, Congress leaders addressed rallies and informed people about their party's pre-poll promises.

In Betul, former Union minister and Congress leader Suresh Pachouri accused the ruling BJP of involvement in corruption and claimed his party will form the next government by winning as many as 150 of the 230 assembly seats in the upcoming polls.

In Damoh, former state Congress president Arun Yadav said instead of 'Jan Ashirwad', the BJP should carry out ''Mafi Yatra'' to seek apology from people for rampant corruption under his rule.

Speaking in Kelaras (Morena district), Leader of Opposition in the assembly Govind Singh raised the issue of alleged atrocities on Dalits and tribals and graft in running of the government which assumed office in March 2020.

Former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria addressed a gathering in Nepanagar (Burhanpur) and accused the ruling BJP of committing atrocities on adivasis.

Other Congress leaders, including former state ministers Ajay Singh and Kamleshwar Patel, also addressed the yatra in different places.

On the other hand, senior BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, addressed gatherings during the Jan Ashirwad Yatra being taken out from five different places in the state.

Chouhan, a four-time CM, while participating in the outreach programme in Indore on Wednesday, claimed the BJP is garnering ''huge'' support from citizens during these marches.

''The people will give blessings to the ruling party, while the Congress will face their anger as it stopped the BJP government's welfare schemes when it ruled the state from December 2018 and March 2020,'' Chouhan said.

The CM also accused the opposition party of insulting Sanatan Dharma.

State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, while addressing a gathering at Raisen, accused the Congress of appeasement of minorities and protecting those who work against the country. While accusing Congress of running the governments, which are remote-controlled by Sonia Gandhi, Minister for Medical Education Vishvas Sarang, while addressing a gathering in Amla (Betul district), alleged that Congress governments, when they are in office, are remote-controlled by the central high command.

The BJP, on the other hand, has been serving the poor and farmers besides empowering all sections of society, including women, said Sarang.

Former state BJP president Prabhat Jha and Uttar Pradesh minister Swatantra Dev Singh addressed different gatherings as part of the outreach programme in Chhatarpur district and Banda (Sagar district), respectively.

The Congress march is expected to cover 11,400 kilometres across all the 230 assembly segments in Madhya Pradesh in 15 days to highlight various issues like ''corruption, unemployment, and crime against Dalits and women'', among others.

State Congress Media Department chairman KK Mishra claimed his party's march is receiving overwhelming response from the people of the state as there is a lot of anger against the Chouhan dispensation.

State BJP secretary Rajnish Agrawal said chief ministers of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Assam besides deputy CMs of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have addressed the party's march at different places so far besides Union ministers, including Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Ashwini Vaishnaw.

While no party won a clear majority in 2018, the Congress bagged 114 seats and formed a coalition government under Kamal Nath's leadership with support from SP and BSP MLAs and independent legislators. However, the Nath government collapsed in March 2020, paving the way for the BJP to once again assume office with support from Congress MLAs who had switched sides.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)