"Our ladli behanas have removed all the thorns," Shivraj Chouhan said. (File)
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress on Thursday claimed they would win the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, results of which will be declared on December 3.
Exit polls being telecast by various news channels since the evening after the end of voting in Telangana have predicted a close fight in Madhya Pradesh, with some of them giving the BJP an edge.
"I have been saying from the beginning and also during the campaign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi affection and leadership, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah's strategy, (BJP president) JP Nadda's leadership and the hard work of party workers as well as the schemes of the state government will result in a huge victory for the BJP," said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Asserting that the "double engine government" of the BJP at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh had brought about huge development, Shivraj Chouhan told PTI he was never in any doubt about his party retaining power.
"We always felt we will win and we are winning. The love and affection shown by our sisters, nieces and nephews (referring to citizens of the state) has been tremendous. At times, more women were present at our rallies than men. There was no 'kaante ki takkar (tough fight). Our ladli behanas have removed all the thorns," Shivraj Chouhan said.
Meanwhile, in a post on social media platform X, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath said, "I have always said the country is run by a vision and not by television. Many exit polls have shown that the Congress is forming the government in the state, while some others are saying something different." "You (party workers) should not get carried away by all these things and should remain focused on the aim like 'Arjun' on the counting to ensure each and every vote cast in favour of the Congress is counted for the party. This will ensure formation of the Congress government with a landslide victory," Kamal Nath further said.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, however, pointed out exit poll predictions are varied and nothing can be said about them.
"But I can firmly say Congress will get more than 130 seats in Madhya Pradesh. There was a feeling of change in the people and they fought the polls along with Congress workers. The people are fed up with the BJP, its workers and Chouhan's false promises as well as bad governance," asserted Mr Singh, a Rajya Sabha Madhya Pradesh and former state Chief Minister.
State home minister Narottam Mishra, who contested from Datia seat, said the BJP will win more than 165 seats, adding that exit polls had paved the way for the Congress' "exit" from the state.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)