Why Gwalior Is Key to BJP, Congress In Coming Elections

The BJP is buttressing its defences in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior days before Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra enters the state. Gwalior, which is apparently upset with the BJP, will be the gateway of the Congress footmarch.

Union home minister Amit Shah, the BJP's chief strategist, held a meeting of party workers there on Sunday, where he offered a special tip to contribute to the BJP victory.

Addressing the booth level workers in Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency, Mr Shah urged every worker to add 370 additional votes on each booth. Taking this move statewide and countrywide, he said, could lead the BJP to a victory in all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh and 370-plus seats across India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the party a 400-seat target this year.

Of the five regions in Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior is expected to see the toughest battle between the BJP and the Congress. In the recently held assembly elections, both parties were neck-and-neck, with the BJP wining 18 seats and the Congress just two seats behind.

The reason, party sources indicated was the Dalit Brahmin factor -- the Dalits upset over the caste-based crimes since 2018 and the Brahmins over the lack of representation. Both sections had opposed the BJP, which led to the below-par performance.

The BJP has been working on a solution. To assuage Dalit anger, it had offered multiple schemes for them in the run-up to the assembly elections.

There are plans to bring the Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma -- a Brahmin face -- in the area to campaign.

On Sunday, Mr Shah's second stop was Khajuraho, which the Congress has left for the Samajwadi Party this time as part of the seat-sharing agreement. In the recent assembly elections, BJP had won all the eight assembly constituencies there.

Mr Shah's last stop was Bhopal, where the BJP has been winning Lok Sabha elections since 1989 and won six of the eight assembly constituencies in the 2023 elections.

KK Mishra, chief of the party's state media cell, said, "On one hand, the BJP claims that they are going to win 400 seats and on the other hand they are scared about the visit of Rahul Gandhi and Congress".