“I was never a contender for the Chief Minister [post] nor am I today. Whatever work was given [to me] by the party, I carried it out with total honesty and to the best of my ability,” said Shivraj Singh Chouhan days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a thumping majority in Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections 2023.
Discussions, speculations, and hopes are rife about the probable CM post contenders after the BJP repeated its victory with a massive majority, winning 163 out of 230 Assembly seats in the state.
When asked if he would go to Delhi, Chouhan said, “I will not go to Delhi”, adding that he has "taken a resolution" to ensure that ‘the BJP wins 29 out of 29 parliamentary seats in MP" so that Narendra Modi becomes the India's Prime Minister for the third time.
Nothing is Final Until it is
Evidently, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is being seen as the most strong contender for the CM post after the party's sweep in Madhya Pradesh. However, with the BJP, nothing is final unless it is.
Meanwhile, much of the success of the BJP's win is credited to the recently launched cash transfer scheme for women in Madhya Pradesh – Ladli Behna Yojana – under which women voters are being paid a monthly sum of Rs 1,200 across the state.
Chouhan was facing strong anti-incumbency sentiment stemming from 18 years of the BJP regime, which saw Shivraj as Madhya Pradesh chief minister for four consecutive times.
The BJP camp, which had fielded seven sitting MPs, including three ministers as well as their national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya to counter the anti-incumbency sentiments, tried to sidestep the incumbent CM Chouhan, who was considered the reason for voter fatigue.
However, the announcement of Ladli Behna Yojana barely six months before the MP elections, coupled with Shivraj's personal connection with the voters, are now considered the biggest factors behind the BJP's massive victory.
But that's not it – the messaging of collective leadership, the power shift from state to central leaders in the run-up to the elections, and the fielding of political heavyweights have resulted in the open race for CM post in Madhya Pradesh.
As a result, as soon as the trends showing the BJP's landscape victory started setting in, the discussions started brewing on whether the BJP will replace Chouhan.
Several BJP heavyweights like Vijayvargiya; central minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who won from Dimani seat in MP; and one of the tallest OBC leaders Prahlad Patel, who won from Narsinghpur seat in Mahakaushal region of MP; are in the fray for the CM post apart from Chouhan himself.
BJP Leaders Dodge Ladli Behna, Stress on Modi Magic
Although political commentators give much credit to the last-minute Ladli Behna Yojana, the senior leaders who were fielded to counter the anti-incumbency were seen dodging from crediting Chouhan-backed scheme. Instead, they stressed on the "Modi magic" and the "collective leadership" narratives.
Talking to The Quint, a senior functionary of the Chouhan camp said:
“Everybody is trying to rise to the top, get their numbers on the top for the CM post, and that's why a lot of senior leaders dodged the questions on Ladli Behna. The public knows, and we are very sure that the senior leadership also understands the sentiment of the public. Whatever they decide will be the best, and we will all work towards its implementation.”
Even Chouhan was seen refusing to present his candidacy for the post, despite running a successful campaign in the state.
Another BJP leader told this reporter that all decisions will be finalised by the central leadership, and hence, no leader is neither openly claiming a position nor denying it.
“Whatever decision has to be taken will be taken by the central leadership, and hence everybody is in the race. You can't rule out anyone, even those who lost.”BJP leader
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