Oppn coming together as they can't fight against Modi alone: MP CM Chouhan

Opposition parties are coming together as they cannot fight the electoral battle against "superhuman" Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone and are unable to match the work he has done on the ground, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of an event of his government's flagship 'Ladli Behna' scheme here, the CM also said the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) will win over 200 seats in the forthcoming assembly polls.

The state has 230 assembly seats and elections are to be held later this year.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the most popular leaders in the world. Wherever he goes, people greet him with love and pride (unki jai jai hoti hai). You have seen this in the US."

"The opposition parties cannot match his development and welfare initiatives and the work he does on the ground," Chouhan said. "People wonder how can one person be so complete and hence I say Modiji is a superhuman."

Chouhan said the country and the citizens were progressing under Modi's leadership and there is a wave of support for him, he said.

"As the opposition parties cannot fight alone, they have come together to contest the electoral battle," the CM said. "Otherwise, these very parties keep fighting (among themselves."

He was commenting on a meeting of opposition parties at Patna on Friday.

A total of 17 opposition parties resolved to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly to defeat the saffron party and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences.

Asked about the challenge in his state posed by the Congress, buoyed by its victories in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, Chouhan said his party's roots in the state were "very strong" and the BJP will win more than 200 seats in the assembly elections.

On his promise to scale up the monetary benefit from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 for a select category of needy women under the 'Ladli Behna' scheme, the CM said the financial condition of Madhya Pradesh was "sound" which will enable his government to keep its promise.

"In 2003 under the Congress rule, the state's budget was Rs 21,000 crore which is Rs 3.14 lakh crore now. We are sure that with improvement in the finances we will be able to scale up the monetary grant under the 'Ladli Behna' scheme," he said.

Under the scheme, women aged between 23-60 years will be given Rs 1,000 per month with certain riders, including that they are not income tax payees and their families' annual income is below Rs 2.50 lakh annually.

Chouhan called this scheme a "financial empowerment" tool for women and said at the public rally here that he will ensure that the monthly income of the needy women is made Rs 10,000 per month.

"This 'Ladli Behna' scheme did not start today. We started with the 'Ladli Laxmi' scheme for the girl child after we saw that the sex ratio in Madhya Pradesh was skewed with 912 females as compared to per 1000 males.

"We wanted to ensure that a girl is not killed in the womb and hence we started schemes that empower the girl child and also the women. We have decided to empower our sisters as much as we can," he said.

Chauhan said Madhya Pradesh was the "first state in the country" to ensure 50 per cent reservation for women in the elections of the local bodies.

"I am happy to see women leading in Panchayats and local bodies. This is a political empowerment of the women. We have 56 per cent women representatives in these bodies now," he said.

The CM said 45 per cent property registried in the state at present were being done in the name of women after his government reduced the registration rate and stamp paper duty for the females and made it at one per cent of the total property value.

The CM said he will ensure that all his promises are met and are continued. He accused the Congress, the main opposition party in the state, of "deceiving" the people, saying the party made at least 900 promises during the last assembly polls but did not keep even one.