Madhya Pradesh Elections 2023: Who will be the next 'Maharaj' - Shivraj Singh Chouhan or Jyotiraditya Scindia?
BJP has not declared its chief ministerial face in the assembly polls, even as Congress has projected former chief minister Kamal Nath as the CM face of the party.
- Dec 3, 2023,
- Updated Dec 3, 2023 12:28 PM IST
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a massive lead in Madhya Pradesh and is eyeing to form the government yet again. Speaking at the early trends on Sunday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan claimed that BJP will form a government again with an absolute majority.
Chouhan said: "Modi ji MP ke mann mein hain aur Modi ji ke mann mein MP hai. He held public rallies here and appealed to the people and that touched people’s hearts. These trends are a result of that. Double-engine government properly implemented the schemes of the Central Government and the schemes that were formed here also touched people’s hearts. BJP would get a comfortable and grand majority as people’s love for us was visible everywhere.”
Following the early trends, Union Minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also arrived at the residence of incumbent CM Chouhan in Bhopal.
Speaking to the media outside Chouhan's house, Scindia credited the welfare schemes of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government. He said: “We knew that as far as Madhya Pradesh is concerned, given the public welfare schemes of our double engine government - people's blessings will be with us... I am confident that their blessings will be with the BJP and we will form the government with absolute majority.”
Race for the CM post
BJP has not declared its chief ministerial face in the assembly polls, even as Congress has projected former chief minister Kamal Nath as the CM face of the party.
With the clear win expectations in MP, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan may be looking at getting the top post yet again. Chouhan, who is leading from the Budhni seat, is the longest-serving CM of Madhya Pradesh. If BJP secures the absolute majority and is asked to form the government, Chouhan can expect the BJP top leaders choosing him for the first time. The BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for 18 of the last 20 years.
There is no doubt BJP has been riding high on its much-anticipated schemes 'Ladli Behna' and 'CM Kisan Nidhi's. Both the schemes transferred lakhs to the voters recently and have been very popular.
In June this year, Chouhan launched the ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’ , which directly send Rs 1,000 every month into the bank accounts of nearly 1.3 crore women in the state. And then promised to triple the amount to Rs 3,000 a month under the ‘Ladli Behna’, if voted to power. He also slashed the cylinder price to Rs 450. This paved the way for him.
Similarly his ‘Ladli Laxmi’ Scheme, launched over a decade ago, has been popular among the women voters, who have clearly backed the BJP this time like earlier state elections.
But no one can negate the clout of Jyotiraditya Scindia in the Chambal-Gwalior segment of the state.
In 2018, the Gwalior-Chambal belt, which sends 34 MLAs to the state assembly, saw Congress winning 26 seats, whereas BJP won just seven.
The equation changed when Scindia quit Congress in March 2020. The 16 MLAs of the 26 from the Gwalior-Chambal resigned from their constituencies. After the bye-elections, the BJP won nine of those seats, taking its total tally to 16 in the region.
Scindia has actively campaigned across the state for BJP, especially in the Gwalior-Chambal area. He has maintained that whatever may be, he is not interested in the CM post.
"It is the decision of the party whom they want to make the chief minister. I am not in politics, I am in jan sewa (public service). I am neither a king nor a kingmaker. I am an ordinary worker who wants to strengthen the party," he said after his rally in Shivpuri district.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a massive lead in Madhya Pradesh and is eyeing to form the government yet again. Speaking at the early trends on Sunday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan claimed that BJP will form a government again with an absolute majority.
Chouhan said: "Modi ji MP ke mann mein hain aur Modi ji ke mann mein MP hai. He held public rallies here and appealed to the people and that touched people’s hearts. These trends are a result of that. Double-engine government properly implemented the schemes of the Central Government and the schemes that were formed here also touched people’s hearts. BJP would get a comfortable and grand majority as people’s love for us was visible everywhere.”
Following the early trends, Union Minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also arrived at the residence of incumbent CM Chouhan in Bhopal.
Speaking to the media outside Chouhan's house, Scindia credited the welfare schemes of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government. He said: “We knew that as far as Madhya Pradesh is concerned, given the public welfare schemes of our double engine government - people's blessings will be with us... I am confident that their blessings will be with the BJP and we will form the government with absolute majority.”
Race for the CM post
BJP has not declared its chief ministerial face in the assembly polls, even as Congress has projected former chief minister Kamal Nath as the CM face of the party.
With the clear win expectations in MP, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan may be looking at getting the top post yet again. Chouhan, who is leading from the Budhni seat, is the longest-serving CM of Madhya Pradesh. If BJP secures the absolute majority and is asked to form the government, Chouhan can expect the BJP top leaders choosing him for the first time. The BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for 18 of the last 20 years.
There is no doubt BJP has been riding high on its much-anticipated schemes 'Ladli Behna' and 'CM Kisan Nidhi's. Both the schemes transferred lakhs to the voters recently and have been very popular.
In June this year, Chouhan launched the ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’ , which directly send Rs 1,000 every month into the bank accounts of nearly 1.3 crore women in the state. And then promised to triple the amount to Rs 3,000 a month under the ‘Ladli Behna’, if voted to power. He also slashed the cylinder price to Rs 450. This paved the way for him.
Similarly his ‘Ladli Laxmi’ Scheme, launched over a decade ago, has been popular among the women voters, who have clearly backed the BJP this time like earlier state elections.
But no one can negate the clout of Jyotiraditya Scindia in the Chambal-Gwalior segment of the state.
In 2018, the Gwalior-Chambal belt, which sends 34 MLAs to the state assembly, saw Congress winning 26 seats, whereas BJP won just seven.
The equation changed when Scindia quit Congress in March 2020. The 16 MLAs of the 26 from the Gwalior-Chambal resigned from their constituencies. After the bye-elections, the BJP won nine of those seats, taking its total tally to 16 in the region.
Scindia has actively campaigned across the state for BJP, especially in the Gwalior-Chambal area. He has maintained that whatever may be, he is not interested in the CM post.
"It is the decision of the party whom they want to make the chief minister. I am not in politics, I am in jan sewa (public service). I am neither a king nor a kingmaker. I am an ordinary worker who wants to strengthen the party," he said after his rally in Shivpuri district.