Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023

10 min read

The voting for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly will be held in a single phase on November 17, 2023. The last date of nomination for the candidate will be on October 20. Their candidature will be scrutinised on October 21. As per the rules of the Election Commission of India, candidates can withdraw their candidature by October 23. The counting of votes will be announced on December 3.

Madhya Pradesh is among five states to undergo assembly election this year, setting the stage for the last major electoral exercise ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Madhya Pradesh has 230 legislative assembly seats. The state also sends 40 representatives to the Parliament – 29 to the Lok Sabha and 11 to the Rajya Sabha. The governor, appointed by the president, is the constitutional head of state. Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the current chief minister and Mangubhai C Patel is the current governor of Madhya Pradesh.

The BJP and the Indian National Congress (INC) are the two most important political parties in the state. Madhya Pradesh was established as a distinct state in 1950 after Independence. The first general legislative assembly election in the newly formed Madhya Pradesh were held in 1952. For many years following the Independence, Madhya Pradesh’s political scene was dominated by the Congress. As time passed, opposition groups such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Janata Party, and the BJP rose to prominence and began challenging the Congress’s hegemony.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the BJP grew to be a significant political force in Madhya Pradesh. Over the years, the Congress and the BJP have held power at various times, with the BJP rising to power at the start of the 21st century under the direction of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In the previous assembly election held in November 2018, the Congress formed the government, with Kamal Nath becoming the chief minister.

In March 2020, 22 Congress MLAs resigned from the assembly election and defected to the BJP along with Jyotiraditya Scindia, resulting in the collapse of the Kamal Nath government. Subsequently, the BJP formed the government under Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Most of the defected MLAs were re-elected on the BJP symbol in the by-election, thus enabling a full majority to the BJP government. The tenure of the Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly election is scheduled to end on January 6 2024.

The Election Commission has come up with a technology-based mechanism to keep a record of the seizure of cash, drugs and freebies to induce voters during the assembly election poll. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the system will be used for the first time in the assembly election in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. He said the ‘Election Seizure Management System’ is a new technology-driven platform for real-time updates on seizures from the field by multifarious state and central enforcement agencies.

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What is the process of the Madhya Pradesh assembly election?

Announcement of election schedule:

The Election Commission of India announces the schedule for the assembly election. This includes the deadlines for submitting nominations, reviewing nominations, withdrawing nominations, and the election day.

Voter registration:

Eligible persons must ensure they are registered to vote to cast a ballot. To obtain a Voter ID card, this entails providing the commission with the required documentation and information.

Nomination filing:

Nominations must be submitted within a certain period if parties or Independent candidates intend to run in the election. They must submit the necessary paperwork and pay a security deposit, which is repaid if they win a certain percentage of votes.

Scrutiny of nomination:

Following the nomination, the filed nominations are examined for correctness and completeness. Any candidate’s candidature may be challenged during this period.

Nomination withdrawal:

Candidates have the choice to revoke their nominations. Usually, this occurs after the scrutiny process. A candidate may lose their security deposit if they don’t withdraw and go on to lose the assembly election.

Voting:

Eligible voters cast their ballots at dedicated polling centres on the assembly election day. Typically, voting is done through electronic voting machines or EVMs. By tapping the button corresponding to their favourite candidate or party symbol, voters indicate their preference.

Counting of votes:

After the voting is over, the EVMs are sealed and taken to the counting centres. Following that, the ballots are tallied under the watchful eyes of the poll panel officials and observers. Typically, the results are declared on the day of the counting.

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Declaring the winner:

The winner is the candidate who secures the most legitimate votes in each constituency. The government is formed by the party or coalition that holds the majority of seats in the legislature.

After the election results are announced, the chief minister and the council of ministers are sworn in as the new government. They start running the state after assuming their respective positions.

What is Article 243K?

Article 243K(1):

Article 243K of the Constitution of India states that the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all assembly election to the Panchayats (Municipalities under Article 243ZA) shall be vested in a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to be appointed by the Governor.

Article 243K(2):

Article 243K states that the tenure and appointment will be directed as per the law made by the state legislature. However, the State Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his/her office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of a High Court.