Watch: 'We are going to win 150 seats in Madhya Pradesh,' says Rahul gandhi after meeting with state leadership

Speaking to reporters after meeting with the Congress leadership of Madhya Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence that the grand old party will win 150 seats in the central Indian state. 

Will repeat Karnataka performance in MP: Rahul Gandhi

"We had a detailed meeting right now and our internal assessment says that since we got 136 seats in Karnataka, we are now going to get 150 seats in Madhya Pradesh," Rahul Gandhi said. 

"We are going to repeat in MP what we did in Karnataka," Gandhi said, with MPCC president Kamal Nath standing along with him. 

Khayali Pulao, says MP CM Shivraj

MP Chief Minister and BJP leadr Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit back Rahul Gandhi's claim, terming it as their 'Khayali Pulao' (fantasy).

Chouhan also claimed that the BJP is going to win 200 seats in MP.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders hailing from Madhya Pradesh convened at the AICC headquarters to discuss their state's readiness for the imminent assembly elections, in a meeting presided over by party leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and attended by  Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, former chief minister Kamal Nath, among others.

Kharge to also meet Gehlot and Pilot

Mallikarjun Kharge will also hold a meeting on Monday with party leaders from Rajasthan, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot. Ashok Gehlot has already arrived in the national capital for the gathering.

The participation in these meetings will include state unit chiefs and party in-charges from both states, as part of the Congress' endeavors to mobilise party members and lay the groundwork for the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for later this year.

Madhya Pradesh elections and politics so far

The Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, scheduled to occur in or before November 2023, will determine the composition of all 230 assembly seats. The current tenure of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly is expected to end on January 6, 2024. The previous assembly elections took place in November 2018, leading to the formation of the state government by the Indian National Congress, with Kamal Nath assuming the position of Chief Minister.

However, a significant political crisis unfolded in March 2020 when 22 Congress MLAs resigned from the assembly and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia. This event resulted in the collapse of the state government and the subsequent resignation of Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Seizing the opportunity, the BJP formed the state government, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan becoming the Chief Minister.