spirit. Dabra is a small town, 45 km north of Gwalior, where the late Madhavrao Scinidia hosted a conclave of all senior Congress leaders in the run-up to the 1993 assembly election. The leaders in Dabra vowed to bury the hatchet for the sake of party’s victory. The show of unity paid off as the Congress won the assembly poll. Since then, Dabra is remembered in the state as a metaphor for unity.

While cherishing the Dabra spirit, the Congress, however, realises that much water has flowed down the Narmada since 1993 when the party had a strong base down to the village level. The 15 years of BJP rule has seen continuous disintegration of the organisation.

THAT’S the reason all Congress leaders in the state are unanimous that thestrongest anti-incumbency in the 15 years of its rule, which could translate into losing as high as eight percent votes in the 2018 election,” says Manak Agrawal, MPCC chief media incharge.

The BSP has consolidated its base in districts adjoining Uttar Pradesh such as Bhind and Morena in the Chambal region as well as Rewa and Satna in the Vindhya region. In other districts too, the party has its cadre base, which though not very strong, can mar the Congress’s chances of victory. The BSP is banking on Dalit angst against the BJP to increase its vote and seat share. In April this year, Bhind and Morena districts witnessed violent Dalit agitation, which resulted in the death of eight persons in police firing. The agitation was against the Supreme