Governments & Politics of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh has a 230-seat state Legislative Assembly. The state also sends 40 members to the Parliament of India: 29 are elected to the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and 11 to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).

The dominant political parties in the state are the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress. Unlike many of its neighbours, Madhya Pradesh has largely a two-party system with small or regional parties not having had much success in recent elections.

In the November 2003 state elections, the BJP won an absolute majority of 173 seats, defeating the governing Congress who won just 38 seats. Other parties in the state legislature include the Samajwadi Party with 7 seats.

The current chief minister is Shivraj singh Chauhan, who succeeded Babulal Gaur and Uma Bharti. Before the BJP won in 2003, the longtime Congress Chief Minister was Digvijay Singh.