With the announcement by the Election Commission (EC) today that assembly polls would be held in Madhya Pradesh on 17 November in a single phase, the model code of conduct has been simultaneously enforced in the state.

Just a few hours after the EC’s announcement of poll dates today, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced names of 57 more candidates for MP.

The BJP list includes the name of MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, from his Budhni seat.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had already announced the names of 79 candidates out of the 230 assembly seats in the state, well before the announcement of election dates.

The party announced 39 names in its first list, 39 in its second and then named a single candidate, Monika Batti from the Amarwara seat. Monika Batti joined the BJP from the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) and is the daughter of former GGP MLA of Madhya Pradesh, Manmohan Shah Batti.

The BJP’s second list included the surprising and unexpected names of several heavy weights like three union ministers, Narendra Singh Tomar, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Prahalad Singh Patel along with four sitting Lok Sabha Members Riti Pathak, Rakesh Singh, Rao Uday Pratap Singh and Ganesh Singh. The BJP has also fielded its national general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya for these polls from Indore.

With today’s list, the BJP has announced names of 136 candidates out of the 230. The main opposition Congress, however, has still kept its cards hidden and has not announced any candidates so far.

In the last meeting of the Congress screening committee held at New Delhi a couple of days ago, it was learnt that the party has reached a consensus on single names of candidates on about 140 seats in the state. Officially, however, the Congress has not yet announced the names of any candidates.

Sources said the party is likely to declare its first list as soon as the ongoing Pitra Paksha period ends and the auspicious Navratri begins.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was the first in MP to announce names of seven candidates, even before the BJP’s first list. Following that, the BSP has announced names of another seven candidates.

On October 1, the BSP and the GGP officially announced a coalition pact for the assembly polls in MP. BSP Rajya Sabha Member Ramji Gautam and GGP General Secretary Balbir Singh Tomar announced that the two parties had reached a pact, wherein the BSP would contest on 178 seats and the GGP would field candidates on 52 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

The BSP had won two seats in the 2018 assembly polls. Later one of its MLA joined the BJP and presently the BSP has one MLA.

The GGP, which was formed in undivided Madhya Pradesh in 1991 as a party committed to the welfare of tribals, had won one seat on the 1998 assembly polls and it had three MLAs in the 2003 assembly elections, which has so far been the party’s best performance in MP.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also announced the names of 39 candidates for Madhya Pradesh assembly polls. Its first list was announced in September and it included the names of 10 candidates. In its second list, announced on 3 October, the AAP named 29 more candidates.

The AAP has given the ticket from Chachora assembly seat to influential BJP leader Mamta Meena, who quit the BJP and joined AAP, after she fell apart with the BJP, as the saffron party did not give her a ticket.

The AAP has also given a ticket to a third gender candidate, Chanda Kinnar, popularly called Chanda Didi, from Bada Malhara constituency in Chhatarpur district.

Following the EC’s announcement of poll dates for MP, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted today that the AAP is ready to contest the assembly polls in MP with its full strength.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has also so far announced candidates on six seats in the Gwalior-Chambal and Bundelkhand regions of MP. These include former MLA Meera Yadav from the Niwari constituency.

Sources said the SP could ask the Congress to leave at least seven seats in MP in the state’s regions adjoining Uttar Pradesh, as the SP leaders believe they could have an impact and win on those seats.

SP President Akhilesh Yadav had said after announcing the party’s list for MP that the SP wants to defeat the BJP.

The SP is aiming to avenge what the BJP did to it in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Akhilesh Yadav said the SP and Congress should contest unitedly in the MP assembly polls.

Madhya Pradesh Congress in-charge Randeep Surjewala has also hinted that both parties were in touch for a seat-sharing arrangement for Madhya Pradesh.

The SP had surprised everyone after it won seven seats in MP in the 2003 assembly polls. It had won four seats in 1998 and one each in the 2008 and 2018 assembly elections.

According to Election Commission’s figures there are more than 5.60 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh. This includes more than 2.88 crore male voters and more than 2.72 crore female voters.

The state’s voter list has increased by more than 16.83 lakh voters, and overall more than 22.36 lakh first-time voters in the age group of 18 and 19 years have been added, who would cast their votes for the first time.

The counting of votes and announcement of results would take place on 3 December.

The voting for the previous assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh in 2018 was held on 28 November.