Will Shivraj Singh Chouhan contest Assembly election?
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, October 4: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far released three lists for Madhya Pradesh Assembly election without the incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan featuring in them. In an outing in his Budhni Assembly seat, the chief minister asked the people if he should contest election giving rise to intense speculation that he may have played his last innings in the state politics.
With Pitripaksha setting during which the BJP is widely known to not release lists of candidates for polls, Chouhan may have an agonizing wait to get to hear what the party high command has decided for him. While being the longest chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, the BJP seemingly dampened his spirit by fielding three Union Ministers – Narendra Singh Tomar, Pralhad Singh Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste – in the electoral fray.
Chouhan on his part certainly not only wants to contest election, but also stay in the state politics. Insiders in his team have been preparing for the Assembly elections for months with Chouhan on the forefront of the party’s campaign. The Madhya Pradesh government is most aggressive in media outreach with the state government’s achievements flashed with full-page advertorials in the national dailies regularly. The media outreach of Madhya Pradesh in the name of Chouhan is more visible than his counterparts in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, who have also been drumming up positive advertorials.
“There is least chance of Chouhan contesting election, and the party brass may soon communicate the decision that it’s time for him to pass on the baton to the alternative leadership. He will be encouraged to lead the BJP campaign and get support for the party in the name of the collective leadership,” said a senior BJP functionary.
The BJP’s bid to field the Lok Sabha MPs in the electoral fray in Madhya Pradesh is inviting rebellion within the ranks of the saffron outfit. While Chouhan, who had sought to counter the Congress’ guarantee-based poll plank by Ladli scheme, is now fielding questions on his prospects of contesting elections, the saffron outfit is unfazed of adverse consequences as Prime Minister Narendra Modi builds the party’s campaign pitch in the state. With Modi being the main mascot for the BJP’s electioneering juggernaut, the saffron outfit is confident to beat the disaffection in the party ranks over ticket distribution and oversee the leadership transition, said a party insider.
About The Author
