80 days of development versus 5 years of NDA incumbency will be election issue in Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath

A day after the announcement of the dates of General Election by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that the party is fully prepared for the upcoming elections and their 80-day of development versus five years of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will be an important election issue in the state.

“We will contest election on the works done by the Congress government in last 80 days and compare it with the 5-years of NDA rule. I believe voters of the state will secure their future by making the right choice in the upcoming general elections,” said Kamal Nath interacting with the media adding that we will convey the same to voters.

The poll for 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh will happen in four phases on April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. The counting of votes for all the constituencies will be held on May 23, 2019.

Out of 29, 10 seats are reserved for Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes.

In the 2009 parliamentary elections, the voting percentage was 51%, in Madhya Pradesh, while in 2014, it increased to 61%, this time the state unit of ECI has set a target for 75% voter turnout.

As many as 5.5 crore voters of  the state will cast their votes at 65,000 polling booths. EC is deploying five lakh employees for the election. A budget of ₹550 crore has been provided for the elections during the coming financial year, informed state election commission CEO VL Kantha Rao on Sunday.

Ruling out any possibilities of forging an alliance with BSP and SP in the state for the LS polls, Kamal Nath said Congress will fight alone in the state and the first list of the LS candidates will be announced in day or two.

Lambasting the Narendra Modi government for taking ‘credit’ for conducting the airstrike on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan’s ‘Balkot’, Nath said that the Air Force deserves full credit and people know about their valour and are also aware of the government’s attempt to politicise it.

“Was country weak before Modi came to power and India is secure since Modi arrive? No, this is nothing but a political stunt to manipulate voters,” he said while targeting the ruling party.

Alleging that the Modi government utterly failed, CM asked: “Why does the Modi government never talk about employment? Why have terrorist attacks gone up during NDA rule? And why are farmers in distress?” Modi government failed to chalk out any plan for generating employment for the youth, that it had promised in their election manifesto.

Highlighting the work carried out by Congress government, Kamal Nath said, till Sunday morning, 25 lakh farmers have been covered under loan waiver scheme in the state.

“In just 80 days, we have waived farm loan of 25 lakh farmers, given 27% reservation to OBC, implemented 10% quota for economically weak in general category, initiated the opening of 1,000 cowsheds, announced a bonus for various crops, etc.” Kamal Nath said.

Taking a jibe at Modi for his “Make in India” campaign, CM asked “The phone you are using, the aircraft you are flying, who has made them? BJP? No, Congress has done this. Modiji is nothing but a good actor and I appreciate his talent.”

He further said, “We have made laws for the welfare of the poor and what has NDA done, nothing, they cheated the youth with fancy lines in the name of Make In India, Digital India, Skill India, Start Up India and many more,” said Kamal Nath.

Reacting to CM Kamal Nath’s claim, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “In the last 80 days, Congress has pushed the state into anarchy. Farm loans have not been waived, no bonus has been given to farmers. The poor friendly Sambal scheme has been abandoned. But I’m here to fight for the poor and farmers.”