New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti’s public outburst last week on not being invited to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jan Ashirwad Yatra, launched by party president J.P. Nadda in Madhya Pradesh (MP) on 3 September, underlines growing differences within the state unit of the ruling party.
It’s not just about Bharti. With assembly polls due in Madhya Pradesh later this year, a many-sided conflict over the chief minister’s chair is playing out in the state BJP, which has a number of high-profile leaders. The BJP’s top leadership, too, is considering promoting fresh faces and looking beyond Chouhan to lead the party, said sources.
According to party insiders and political observers, the aspirants for the post include the following: Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya and Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel.
Union minister of state (MoS) Faggan Singh Kulaste and former BJP state president and MP Rakesh Singh are also important leaders with influence.
In 2021, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had taken a dig at the Madhya Pradesh BJP leadership, saying, “only two candidates are left in the race for chief minister in Madhya Pradesh. Modi ji’s candidate is Prahlad Patel and Sangh’s candidate is V.D. Sharma. I sympathise with the rest of the candidates.”
But now, the pool of contenders may have expanded.
Commenting on the apparent differences among party members, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai said, “We are unified in diversity, which is why we can have different voices. We are a democratic party, but we have only one candidate, which is the lotus (the BJP symbol), for whom we work and elect.”
Experts, meanwhile, say it’s not only the BJP that is facing factionalism in the state.
“In both parties, we have factions, it is not restricted to the BJP alone. Factions are there in the Congress too. Yes, they are more in the BJP, but the BJP’s persuasion power is also greater and they can ensure all of them work unitedly,” said political commentator Badri Narayan.
He added, “Karnataka (where the BJP lost to the Congress in assembly elections held earlier this year) was difficult for them. But having so many leaders also becomes your strength. The more the leaders, the more is the power — so one can view this from this perspective too, as it comes in handy during mobilisation. Everyone used to say there are many factions in Uttar Pradesh, but see how they performed.”
ThePrint looks at some purported rivals within the MP BJP.
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Uma Bharti
While Bharti is not being talked about as a contender for the chief minister’s post, she remains influential, particularly among members of the Lodhi community in the state.
Taking a dig at her party colleagues over the Jan Ashirwad Yatra last Monday, she said that they (other party members) were “nervous” that all the attention would be on her if she were invited.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the leader also said that now she would not be a part of the yatra even if invited.
3) मुझे जन आशीर्वाद यात्रा के प्रारंभ में निमंत्रण नहीं मिला यह सच्चाई है कि ऐसा मैंने कहा है लेकिन निमंत्रण मिलने या ना मिलने से मैं कम ज्यादा नहीं हो जाती । हाँ अब यदि मुझे निमंत्रण दिया गया तो मैं कही नहीं जाऊँगी । ना प्रारंभ में ना 25 सितंबर के समापन समारोह में । @BJP4MP
— Uma Bharti (@umasribharti) September 4, 2023
The former CM has a long history of conflict with party colleagues in the state, ever since the BJP’s top leadership ignored her bid to return as CM in 2005.
Bharti, who is credited with leading the party to victory in the 2003 MP assembly election, had to step down as CM in 2004, after a non-bailable warrant was issued against her in a case relating to the 1994 Hubli riots.
After the Karnataka government withdrew the case in 2004, Bharti reportedly wanted to return as CM, replacing Babulal Gaur, who had taken her place in office. The party high command, however, didn’t oblige.
Fifteen months after installing Gaur in the CM’s seat, the party’s central leadership replaced him with Shivraj Singh Chouhan in 2005, still ignoring Bharti’s claims to the position.
The move led to a public outburst from Bharti against the party high command, resulting in her expulsion in 2005. She had also demanded ‘’disciplinary action’’ against then BJP president L.K. Advani.
The former CM returned to the BJP fold in 2011, going on to become a cabinet minister in the first Narendra Modi government in 2014.
Her rivalry with Chouhan has, however, persisted.
“She has been at loggerheads with CM Chouhan for the past few years. Bharti is from the Bundelkhand region and has a strong following among the state’s Lodhi community,” said a state BJP leader on condition of anonymity.
Vocal in her demands for a liquor prohibition law in the state, the former CM had once thrown a stone at a liquor shop, causing embarrassment to the government. In February this year, the Chouhan government passed a law closing “ahatas” or drinking areas attached to liquor outlets, and shop bars, taking the state a step closer to prohibition.
Prahlad Singh Patel
The Union minister of state (MoS) for food processing industries, Patel is a member of Parliament from the state’s Damoh Lok Sabha constituency. He previously served as Union minister of state for coal in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Patel started his political career as a student leader and according to sources, was one of those supporting Bharti when she revolted against the party after Chouhan was made CM. He, however, later rejoined the party.
“Prahlad Patel and (BJP state chief) V.D. Sharma don’t share a comfortable relationship. Patel’s politics is considered to have started from Uma Bharti’s camp. He also wields a lot of influence among the backward classes, including the Lodi votebank. As OBC voters are central to Madhya Pradesh politics, he fits the bill (as a potential CM) as far as caste and social arithmetic are concerned,” said the state BJP leader quoted above.
Narendra Singh Tomar vs Jyotiraditya Scindia
Agriculture minister in the Narendra Modi-led Union government, Narendra Singh Tomar is one of the most prominent faces of the BJP in the Gwalior-Chambal region. Though the area is considered a stronghold of the party, cracks have developed over time with the Congress gaining ground, sources said.
A second BJP leader spoke about Tomar’s purported rivalry with Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union minister for civil aviation and steel.
“The Narendra Singh Tomar vs Scindia rivalry is quite (well) known and the BJP ended up losing the mayoral elections for the first time last year from the Gwalior-Chambal region. Gwalior-Chambal is the home turf of Scindia and Tomar. Gwalior is Scindia’s hometown, while Morena (in Chambal) is the Lok Sabha constituency of Tomar. Ticket distribution suffered due to the infighting, and finally the BJP had to suffer losses,” said the leader.
Earlier reports had indicated that owing to Scindia’s increasing focus on the Gwalior-Chambal region, the relationship between him and Tomar had turned sour, though both have refrained from making it publicly apparent.
“Tomar is said to have played a major role in Scindia joining the BJP, but over a period of time their relation turned sour as both also belong to the same region,” said the second leader.
In 2021, when 25 people died, allegedly after consuming spurious liquor in two villages in Tomar’s Morena constituency, Scindia not only visited the affected families but also provided financial support of Rs. 50,000.
“During Scindia’s visit, none of the BJP leaders were seen with him though his supporters who had left and joined the BJP were there. A day after, Tomar also visited the families and offered support. The minister was not very happy that before he could visit, Scindia visited the families,” recalled a third senior leader.
A fourth senior leader said that Tomar is considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“The workers of both Tomar and Scindia camps are eyeing tickets. When Amit Shah ji had come (in July) many of them had gathered at Bhopal. It will be a challenge for the BJP to carry out ticket distribution,” said a central BJP functionary.
Tomar has been appointed convenor of the MP BJP’s election management committee, while Scindia, who left the Congress along with 22 MLAs in 2020 — bringing down the previous Kamal Nath-led Congress government in the state — has long been seen as a CM aspirant.
This aspiration is said to have been at the core of his rivalry with Nath and Digvijaya Singh while in the Congress.
While he is now a cabinet minister in the Union government, he is said to be facing opposition from BJP leaders who fought against him on his home turf when he was in the Congress.
Earlier this month, political circles were abuzz after Scindia visited former BJP state president Prabhat Jha. Jha had been vocal in his criticism of Scindia when he was in the Congress, but is also considered a political opponent of Tomar .
“Scindia had lunch at Jha’s residence in Gwalior. They had a closed-door meeting. It is the first time that Scindia has paid him a visit. Many are seeing this as a big political statement,” said a source in the party.
V.D. Sharma vs CM Chouhan
According to MP BJP leaders, there is also a rivalry between state BJP president V.D. Sharma and CM Chouhan. Sharma, who rose through the ranks of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), is from the Mahakaushal region of MP and has been asked by the central leadership to highlight the work carried out by the Chouhan government in the state.
Chouhah, on the other hand, is the first BJP politician to serve as chief minister of MP four times and is considered to be close to senior party leader L.K. Advani. He is also the only leader who became a chief minister during the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L.K. Advani era who is still in power. Though his stronghold is said to be the Bhopal division and he has served as the Lok Sabha MP from Vidisha, as a four-time CM he enjoys mass appeal across the state.
Owing to a number of women-centric welfare schemes launched by his government, he received the moniker ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle). He is a mass leader and the OBC face of the party in a state where nearly half the population is OBC, according to a survey by the state OBC Welfare Commission.
The issue of the “lukewarm” relationship between Sharma and Chouhan and its effect on the morale of the workers was reportedly raised during the BJP’s state executive meeting in May this year.
A second party functionary said the central leadership was made aware of it too, especially the impact it would have on the upcoming assembly elections.
According to the fourth senior leader quoted above, “During a meeting with the party leadership in Madhya Pradesh, Amit Shah had made it clear to Sharma that the state unit needs to highlight the schemes run by the state government under the leadership of Chouhan.”
Kailash Vijayvargiya
Considered close to Amit Shah, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya is another CM aspirant. He comes from the Malwa-Nimar region (spread across Indore and Ujjain, among others) which is considered a stronghold of the BJP and the RSS.
Although the Congress won the greatest number of seats here in the 2018 assembly elections, “in the past, senior state BJP leaders including Kushabhau Thakre, Sunder Lal Patwa and Kailash Joshi, have all come from this region,” said the fourth senior leader.
In June 2020, senior party leader Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat had blamed Vijayvargiya for the party’s defeat in the 2018 state elections. He alleged that Vijayvargiya had rebel candidates in Malwa to eat into the votes of official candidates, leading to losses for the party.
He also accused Vijayvargiya of trying to derail the Chouhan government.
However, a video of a 2021 event, which showed Vijayvargiya and Chouhan holding hands and singing the popular Bollywood song ‘Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge‘ (we won’t ever break this friendship), from the 1975 film Sholay, went viral that year.
“Both Vijayvargiya and Chouhan entered politics around the same time and were considered friends. However, as fate would have it, one went on to become the chief minister of the state while the other continued to harbour the feeling of replacing him. Over a period of time their relationship became sour,” said the fourth leader.
The leader added, “Vijayvargiya was sent to national politics as the party gave him the responsibility of West Bengal to handle the situation. But after the entry of Scindia, both have once again publicly started displaying their old bond, probably to give the message that they are stronger together.”
Narottam Mishra
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra is said to be another CM aspirant in MP. He is the BJP’s Brahmin face in the state and is considered close to Amit Shah. He comes from the Morena region and has been a minister since 2003, when Chouhan was yet to become CM.
Mishra represents Datia constituency, which falls in the Gwalior division of the state, and he is said to be quite popular there.
In 2020, soon after it became clear that the BJP was set to form a government in Madhya Pradesh, supporters of both Chouhan and Mishra shouted slogans in an apparent show of strength during a legislature party meeting .
Not only this, ThePrint had earlier reported how Mishra was also a contender when the BJP was looking to decide the leader of the opposition in 2018, but Chouhan voted for Gopal Bhargava, a low-profile leader, to ensure he willingly handed over charge in the event of a change in government, according to sources.
Mishra is often seen as the ‘Number 2’ in the Chouhan government.
“The central leadership has made it quite clear that it wants to promote a new crop of leaders in states, and hence in Madhya Pradesh it is definitely looking beyond Shivraj Chouhan,” said the fourth leader quoted above. Mishra senses this as an opportunity, the leader added.
ThePrint had earlier reported how Mishra used to be Chouhan’s confidant at one point of time, but now he has moved on to join the inner circles of central leaders such as Amit Shah. “The party is also aware of the role he played in the BJP forming the government once again”.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: ‘Neglected workers’ & Scindia factor — why BJP is losing leaders to Congress in poll-bound MP