Shivraj Singh Chouhan confident of winning all LS seats in MP

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday claimed that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge victorious in all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "I can promise that BJP will emerge victorious in all 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh in the 2019 elections," he said while addressing a public meeting in West Bengal's Kharagpur.

Referring to his close defeat in the hands of Congress in the November 2018 Assembly polls, Chouhan, who was subsequently elevated as party Vice President, claimed that in spite of defeat, his party's vote share was higher and that none of the parties could get an absolute majority in the election. "You will say that we have lost in Madhya Pradesh. But the truth is no one managed to win the state with an absolute majority. Our vote share was higher than them (Congress). We were ahead in 17 Lok Sabha seats while the Congress was ahead in 12 seats," he said.

He also claimed that the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh is unstable and can falter anytime. The Congress won in 114 of 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh while the BJP, that ruled the state for three consecutive terms, managed 109 seats.

Ridiculing the opposition alliance as "a marriage procession without the groom", Chouhan said all the "corrupt leaders" have come together fearing the popularity and charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, the BJP had called off Chouhan's rally in West Bengal's Murshidabad district after his helicopter was denied permission to land.

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister had been due to speak at two rallies -- at Baharampur in Murshidabad and then at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district. He reached the venue at the rally at Kharagpur by road from the Kolkata airport.

(With inputs from agencies.)