MP assembly polls: Congress names Manoj Malve as its candidate from Amla

BHOPAL: The Congress on Monday declared its candidate for the Amla seat in Betul for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections amid uncertainty over the decision on the resignation of deputy collector Nisha Bangre who was keen to contest the election. The party, in a statement, said that the decision of the candidature of Manoj Malve by the Central Election Committee.

"The Central Election Committee has approved the candidature of Manoj Malve as Congress candidate for the ensuing general election to the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh from the 130 Amla-SC constituency," the party said.

Earlier, the party declared names for 229 of the 230 Assembly seats in the state, except for candidature for the Amla seat. The Congress wanted to nominate Nisha Bangre from Amla, but the deputy collector's resignation from service has not yet been accepted by the state government.

The second list of candidates for Congress, which was released late Thursday night, showed that the party has replaced candidates from Datia, Gotegaon and Pichhore, amid indications that there have been differences within the party over the distribution of tickets. Earlier, in the first candidate list, the party announced the names of 144 candidates, fielding state unit president and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath from Chhindwara.

The list included prominent names such as former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Former Minister of Higher Education of Madhya Pradesh Jitu Patwari, Jaivardhan Singh, Member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Vijayalakshmi Sadho and Member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Lakshman Singh. Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states set to hold elections this year. The state is scheduled to vote on November 17, with the vote count taking place on December 3.

Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies. The Kamal Nath government collapsed in March 2021 when 22 sitting Congress MLAs resigned under the leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia and joined the BJP. Subsequently, the BJP formed the government in the state, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan taking office as Chief Minister.