Year 2020: When BJP took back power in Madhya Pradesh

One of the biggest political events that took place amidst the coronavirus pandemic was the one at Madhya Pradesh.

The Kamal Nath led Congress government collapsed after a rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia who quit the party along with his loyalists. In March, Nath resigned as MP CM, a day after the Supreme Court directed a floor test to be conducted in Madhya Pradesh Assembly to prove that the Congress government led by him enjoys majority in the House following the rebellion by 22 MLAs of his party.

After Speaker N P Prajapati accepted the resignation of 16 rebel Congress legislators the Kamal Nath government was reduced to minority with 92-MLAs in the 230-members house. The resignations of six others had been accepted earlier.

Similarly, the strength of the house also reduced to 222, trimming down the majority mark to 104. In this situation, the BJP had the majority mark with 107.

In March, Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as the chief minister.

Owing to the resignations, the Election Commission of India announced by-elections in the state. The BJP managed to expand its footprint in the state by winning 19 out of the 28 seats. The Congress on the other hand managed to win in 9 seats.

It was a major victory for Scindia who quit the Congress, joined the BJP and later on went on to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member.