the Congress. It was a big jolt to the ruling party, but it hasn't translated into similar victories in the bypolls.

Gyan Singh will now have to vacate his Umaria Assembly seat, meaning there will be another bypoll and another opportunity for the Congress.

Advantage BJP:

Shivraj Singh Chouhan's personal charisma among rural voters, and the one-on-one connection he enjoyed in the past.
The state government's schemes like 'Mukhiyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojna'(Pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens), schemes for students and girls, etc.
CM Chouhan and other senior ministers and BJP leaders conducted a series of rallies in the two constituencies.

Disadvantage Congress:

Overconfidence: In July, three municipal polls went to the Congress. It was a big blow for the BJP, and the Congress may have become over-confident during the bypolls.
It failed to properly use thedemonetisation issue to its advantage.
In comparison to the efforts put in by Chouhan and his cabinet colleagues, campaigning done by the Congress bigwigs like Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh, Arun Yadav, etc remained a mere formality.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress also failed to use party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his image to its advantage.
According to the voters, Congress had nothing new to offer — no plan or welfare programme for the public, in case it had won.
The party's grass root communication with the masses was missing.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Arun Yadav failed to convince voters in Nepanagar to vote for the party, though it falls his his Lok Sabha constituency.

Umesh Chandra Shrivastava, a voter from Umaria said the Congress party's chances in the upcoming bypoll are also remote. "Only time