prefer the organisation rather than rely on the chief minister for campaigning. The announcement came as a huge shock to Chouhan and his staunch supporters.

Recently, Chouhan tacitly acknowledged his exclusion from the chief ministerial race by reasoning that elections are won on performance and not on the projected chief minister’s face. It’s noteworthy that he claimed exactly the opposite in the run-up to the two previous assembly elections in 2008 and 2013.

But the million dollar question is whether the anti-incumbency factor against the Chouhan is strong enough for the voters to ignore all the weaknesses of the Congress? Are the voters so angry with the BJP that they will prefer anybody over a ruling party candidate? These two questions are crucial, since the election outcome hinges on them.

Organisationally,the Congress is still weak, though the new MPCC chief and his team are making serious efforts to revive it at all levels. The shape of the state Congress has undergone a sea change since Nath took over as the MPCC president. Known for his lavish lifestyle, the businessman-politician has infused his characteristic panache in the organisation’s office too. The MPCC headquarters located in the posh Shivaji Nagar area of Bhopal looks livelier and swankier than it used to be even when the party was in power in the state until 2003. Within weeks of assuming charge, the new state Congress president transformed the look of the office from being a typically listless outpost to a buzzing corporate workplace.

The BJP is also acutely conscious of the fact that