New Delhi: Until 28 January this year, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appeared to be under siege, with the opposition Congress on the upswing and he himself battling the public perception about him falling out of favour with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command. Having governed Madhya Pradesh for close to 18 years since 2005, there was a perception in his party about a ‘fatigue factor’ working against him.
On 28 January when he announced the Ladli Behna scheme, which provides financial assistance worth Rs 1,000 per month to eligible married women aged between 23 and 60 years, little would he have thought that it would turn out to be a gamechanger. The first instalment of the scheme was released on 10 June. He subsequently raised it to Rs 1,250 and relaxed the eligibility criteria to include all women above 21 years.
On Sunday, as MP poll results indicated an unexpected turnaround in the BJP’s favour, with the party leading in over 150 out of 230 seats in the state, it came as an unequivocal endorsement of Chouhan’s leadership and popularity. The Congress is leading on around 70 seats. While the counting is still on, the gap between the tallies of the two parties indicates that the BJP is set to retain power and it’s only about the magnitude of its victory now. Although the BJP had projected ‘collective leadership’ choosing to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its face, it was Chouhan who led the campaign addressing 165 public meetings across the length and breadth of the state. The BJP central leadership that was seeking to promote a new generation of leadership in the state, looking beyond Chouhan who has been the CM for over 18 years since 2003, is now unlikely to overlook his claim for the top post.
It has been a difficult journey for the 64-year-old leader, though. When Chouhan took oath as CM on 23 March, 2020, a day before a 21-day Covid-induced lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the country, he might not have realised that toppling the Kamal Nath-led government was easier than running it.
For 29 days, he acted as the one-man cabinet in the absence of a go-ahead from the party high command.
“He managed Madhya Pradesh without a cabinet for 29 days. After that too, only five ministers were added after much back and forth. And even after that he had to make several rounds of Delhi to finally have a full fledged cabinet. Despite all this he carried out his work and focused on bringing the Ladli Behna scheme which turned out to be a game changer,” said a senior party functionary in Madhya Pradesh.
Chouhan, who played a crucial role in Union Minister and former Congress leader Jyotiarditya Scindia’s induction into the BJP, which paved the way for a BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, ensured it did not “demotivate the cadre”.
Scindia, now a Union minister, had defected to the BJP with 22 Congress MLAs, bringing down the Congress-led government which had come to power in the state following the 2018 assembly polls.
After the BJP formed the government with Scindia loyalist MLAs, Chouhan once again became the Chief Minister. However, having returned to power in his fourth term, Chouhan starkly different from his image of ‘mama’ (maternal uncle, a name he earned because of women-centric schemes) was seen in a different avatar, giving stern warning to mafias in public meetings.
Much like the Uttar Pradesh government, the MP government too started using demolitions of alleged illegal constructions using bulldozers as a symbol of law and order and justice.
In 2020, giving out a stern warning to mafias, Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said, “Sun lo re, Madhya Pradesh chhod dena, nahi toh zameen mein gaad dunga 10 feet. Kahin pata nahi chalega.” (Leave MP or I will bury you 10 feet under.)
By 2022, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-headed BJP government in MP began using bulldozers against “criminals and miscreants”.
Several posters carrying Chouhan’s photo with a bulldozer were put up across Bhopal. The hoardings carried slogans, “Behen beti ke izzat ke saath jisne kiya khilwad, bulldozer pahuchega uske dwar“. (The bulldozer will reach the doors of those who dishonours our sisters and daughters). The posters also read, “Beti ki suraksha mein jo banega rora, mama ka bulldozer banega hathora.” (Those who become a stumbling block in the path of ensuring safety and security of women, Mama’s bulldozer will become a hammer for them).
“Many party workers were upset with the entry of Congress leaders and workers [in BJP] and it started becoming apparent day-by-day. It also hindered the party and government work, but finally it all worked out with Chouhan trying to lead by taking all leaders along,” said a second party functionary.
However, the in-fighting has been a constant headache for the ruling party in Madhya Pradesh.
The situation was made worse by a many-sided conflict over the chief minister’s chair. Chouhan was at the receiving end of an indirect attack from his own ministers. Last year in September two state ministers (Scindia loyalists) — had publicly accused chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains of running a “nirankush” (autocratic) administration in a veiled jibe at Chouhan,” explained the leader.
Undermined by central leadership
The CM was also constantly undermined by the central leadership, as unlike in 2018, Chouhan was not made the face of the BJP’s ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Madhya Pradesh, held between 3 and 21 September this, in the run up to the assembly elections.
Rather, the party deployed a battery of leaders to ensure that Chouhan is not seen as the face of the rallies, and the image projected is one of collective leadership. The ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ is a massive public outreach programme of the BJP to showcase its government’s achievements.
Weeks before the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also written an open letter to the people of Madhya Pradesh, asking them to extend “seedha samarthan” or “direct support” to him in the upcoming assembly election — as they did “in 2014 and 2019” Lok Sabha elections — and ensure the BJP’s win in the state. Although he mentioned Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouan’s and the BJP government’s “untiring hard work”, it was a single reference, with his appeal for direct support to him making it clear that the party was contesting the election with PM Modi as the face and not Chouhan.
“Even during the initial rallies PM Modi was not really making a mention of Chouhan or the Ladli Behna scheme, but as the campaign progressed and the party received feedback, not only was the scheme highlighted by the party leaders but Chouhan’s efforts were also acknowledged,” said the first functionary quoted above. In the latter part of the campaign, PM Modi who had earlier written a letter to MP voters asking for ‘direct support’ to him also started taking Chouhan’s name more frequently in his campaign speeches.
Meanwhile, in-fighting had become a major issue for the party in Madhya Pradesh, forcing the intervention of the central leadership.
Months before the elections, the Union Home Minister had started camping in the state and held several meetings with party leaders. During one such meeting with the top brass of the state, he had emphasised that the polls will be fought unitedly and asked the various “power centres” to put their egos aside and work for the party.
Chouhan is the first BJP politician to serve as chief minister of MP four times. He is also the only leader who became CM during the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L.K. Advani era and is still in power.
The Madhya Pradesh CM is also credited with having initiated a number of welfare schemes for students, young entrepreneurs, farmers and widows.
“The Ladli Behna scheme was his brainchild and without making much noise he worked on the scheme and ensured they had adequate funding for it. This became one of the much-talked about schemes of the government ahead of the elections and helped in garnering greater support from the women voters,” said another leader.
Expecting a close contest in MP, the BJP ensured extensive campaigning by its senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held 15 public meetings in MP ahead of the elections. Chouhan also travelled the length and breadth of the state and managed to hold 165 rallies.
“Despite the narrative that Congress was all set to form the government, Chouhan ensured he campaigned and despite the party opting for collective leadership he did not make his displeasure public unlike say (Vasundhara) Raje [in Rajasthan],” said the functionary quoted above. His patience and grit is likely to be rewarded by the party high command as the BJP looks set to retain power in the state.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: Before polling & after — women voters of Madhya Pradesh have Congress & BJP on tenterhooks