Early trends: Congress crosses half-way mark in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, Dec 11: In what can turn out to be a major blow to the BJP, the Congress has crossed the half-way mark of 115 seats in Madhya Pradesh where the saffron party has been in power since 2003.

The BJP led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan is eyeing a fourth straight term in office, while the Congress is hoping for a comeback in the state which was once its stronghold.

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The Madhya Pradesh assembly has 230 seats and the majority mark needed to form the government is 116.

As of 10.30 am on Tuesday, the Congress was leading in 116 seats while the BJP was leading in 100 seats.

In 2013, the BJP won 165 seats, up 22 from the previous poll with a 44.88% vote share. The Congress came a distant second with 58 seats down 13 from 2008 and a vote share of 36.38%.

Polling was held on November 28. The state registered a record 75 per cent voter turnout.