MP catches Cong by surprise, BJP retains grip on C’garh

When elections were first announced, the Congress didn't expect to win too many seats in Madhya Pradesh, which has a Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state. 

Somewhere in the middle of the prolonged poll process, Congress leaders began believing that they might win a couple of seats.

But no one predicted that the Congress would grab 12 of the state's 29 seats, particularly since in 2004, they party had won just four seats.

This was particularly so because in the state assembly elections just six months ago, the BJP had trounced the Congress. But while many believed that the BJP government headed by Shivraj Singh Chauhan was firmly in the saddle, the BJP had begun loosing its sheen.

The biggest surprise came in the form of the resounding victory of Congress greenhorn and Rahul Gandhi favourite Meenakshi Natarajan. She dethroned the BJP's old warhorse Laxmi Narain Pandey from Mandsaur, handing him his first defeat in four decades.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's brother, Laxman Singh, contesting on a BJP ticket from their family fiefdom of Rajgarh, also lost.

The infights within the BJP and the unity in the Congress are the primary reasons for latter's show. Unlike previous occasions when Congress nominees were chosen from a quota by the party leadership, this time, the only factor considered was the ability to win.

The BJP can draw solace from its impressive performance in Chhattisgarh, where it won 10 of the 11 seats. The charisma and performance of Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh has once again proved handy for the BJP, and explains the party's total domination of this state that has a large number of tribals.

The only seat won by the Congress is Korba from where Karuna Shukla, a niece of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, lost to the Charandas Mahant, the state Congress's chief.

Former CM Ajit Jogi's wife, Renu, also lost in Bilaspur to BJP leader Dilip Singh Judeo.