Complying with the promise made ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly election, Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya got his face blackened by party leader Digvijaya Singh outside the Raj Bhavan in Bhopal. The newly-elected MLA claimed earlier that he would blacken his face if his party rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in more than 50 constituencies. The saffron party retained power in the state, bagging 163 seats out of 230.
Standing by his earlier statement that if the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducts “fair” polls today, the Congress MLA reiterated that the BJP would not get enough votes to win 50 seats, alleging the saffron party of “looting” the Congress in the state through “ the help of EVM (electronic voting machine)”. He also claimed that his party won 119 seats based on the postal ballot count.
“His (Baraiaya) face was not smeared black, he was given a ‘tika’ (smudge) to protect him from bad omen,” Singh said.
Madhya Pradesh went to poll in a single phase on November 17 and its result was declared on December 3 along with three other states. The BJP registered a significant victory in the state by winning 163 seats while the Congress party came a distant second after winning 66 seats and Bharat Adivasi Party won one seat in the state.
Following the release of results, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath claimed days back that some former MLAs complained to him that they got not more than 50 votes in their seats. His statement came after Digvijaya Singh cried foul over possible electoral malpractices during this election.
“We are holding discussions with the elected and non-elected MLAs and analysing the result. Some MLAs have met me, and one of them told me that he got only 50 votes in his own village. How is this possible?…Exit polls are done only to create an atmosphere,” he said earlier.
