MP polls: Despite BJP wave, loss for 12 Shivraj ministers including Narottam Mishra

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have secured a resounding victory in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, but not without a few notable setbacks, including the defeat of 12 ministers in chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's cabinet, including home minister Narottam Mishra, who lost the Datia segment to Congress candidate Rajendra Bharti by a margin of 7,742 votes.

Other ministers such as Arvind Bhadoria, Kamal Patel, and Gaurishankar Bisen also faced defeat in their respective segments.

The Congress party, on the other hand, made significant gains by defeating BJP heavyweights such as Prem Singh Patel, Mahendra Singh Sisodiya, Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon, Bharat Singh Kushwaha, Ramkhelawan Patel, and Suresh Dhakad.

Sisodiya and Dattigaon, who were closely associated with Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, were among the notable losers.

Similarly, Rahul Singh Lodhi, nephew of former MP chief minister Uma Bharti, was also defeated in Khargapur. Imarti Devi, a Scindia loyalist and BJP candidate, lost in Dabra to Suresh Raje of the Congress.

Ganesh Singh, the sitting BJP MP from Satna, who was sent by the BJP's central leadership to contest assembly elections, lost to Congressman Dabbu Siddharth Sukhlal Kushwaha.

Meanwhile, key leaders such as chief minister Chouhan himself, Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel, and BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya secured victories.

Chouhan, often referred to as mama (maternal uncle), won his Budhni seat for the sixth time, defeating Congress leader Vikram Mastal Sharma. Despite facing challenges, Chouhan managed to turn the tide by introducing impactful schemes like 'Ladli Behna.'

Union ministers Tomar and Patel, both potential contenders for the chief minister's post, secured victories in Dimani and Narsinghpur segments respectively. Vijayvargiya, yet another chief ministerial contender, won the Indore-1 seat against Sanjay Shukla of the Congress.

Despite Congress president Kamal Nath's win in Chhindwara, the party won 66 of the 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, with the BJP winning 163, well above the minimum of 116 required for a majority.

The election marked the BJP's triumph, but the losses among prominent ministers have probably taken some of the shine off the saffron victory.