MP Congress chief Kamal Nath leads in Chhindwara bastion, but BJP set to form govt

By evening, BJP had won 43 of MP's 230 seats, with a lead in 122 others. Congress, which emerged as the single-largest player in 2018, had won 11 and was leading in 53.

File photo of Congress leader Kamal Nath | ANI Photo

New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, 77, is leading by nearly 32,000 votes in Chhindwara, according to Election Commission data as of 5.15 pm (21 of 22 rounds of counting), even as the party looks set for another term in the Opposition.

Chhindwara is Nath’s bastion, and the BJP had hoped to lure voters with a young face, 44-year-old Vivek Bunty Sahu. As of 5.15 pm, Sahu was second in the seat.

Nath, a veteran Congress leader and former chief minister, has won every election from Chhindwara since 1990. Since the beginning of the party’s campaign in the state, Nath had projected himself as the chief ministerial face of the party.

By evening, the BJP had won 43 of the state’s 230 seats, with a lead in 122 others. The Congress, which emerged as the single-largest player in 2018, had won 11 and was leading in 53.

The BJP has ruled the state for two decades — except the 15 months from 2018 to 2020 where the Congress was in office under Nath. Incumbent CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has served in the position for 18 years.