Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, Prahlad Patel on Tuesday held a ‘Padayatra’ in support of party candidate Vivek Bunty Sahu in Chhindwara.

Sahu is in the fray from the Chhindwara assembly seat against former Chief Minister and state Congress chief Kamal Nath for the forthcoming assembly polls scheduled to be held this month. On the other hand, Union Minister Patel is in the fray from Narsinghpur assembly seats for the poll.

Earlier in the morning, speaking to ANI, when asked how many seats will the party secure, Patel said, “I can see 2003 repeating itself in 2023.”

Notably, during 2003 assembly polls the BJP came into power after the 10-year rule of the Congress government in the state securing 173 seats out of 230 while the Congress won 38 seats.

Meanwhile, when asked if there is anti-incumbency in the state, Union Minister Patel said, “Congress tried to create this perception. They used to claim that they would declare their candidate six months before (elections) but they announced their candidates 32 days before the polls. Meanwhile, the BJP declared candidates list three months ago. The Congress does not have a cadre and does not have a vision. People who contest elections on the basis of perception can never face BJP.”

Besides, reacting to the preparation for the upcoming assembly polls, the union minister said that they were always prepared for the 2023 elections from day 1.

“BJP is always prepared. The mistakes made in 2018 (elections) – the deficiencies we had or the mistakes the public made, both sides regret it. That is why we were prepared for the 2023 elections from day 1. I think there is no deficiency in our preparations. Congress does not have anything else but to lure people. They (Congress) do not have any development plan to compare. Therefore, I think the BJP organisation, our poor welfare schemes, efforts of state and central government for women empowerment and our roadmap of 20 years is our great strength,” he added.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states set to undergo polls in one phase on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies