Following a complaint regarding the objectionable posters of the chief minister, a case was registered under relevant Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections at the Padao police station, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Singh Chandel. The accused in the FIR (first information report) have not been identified and further investigation was underway, he said.

The posters featuring a QR code and a picture of Chouhan with the message “50% Lao, Kam Karao” (bring 50 per cent and get the work done) along with a leading online payment app's name had come up in several cities of Madhya Pradesh, including Gwalior, in the last few days. The ruling BJP had accused the Congress of putting up these posters, a charge denied by the Opposition party.

The Congress claimed the campaign was a reaction of common people after the BJP started a "poster war" ahead of the Assembly polls which are due by the year-end. Earlier, objectionable posters of Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath had emerged in state capital Bhopal.