Why BJP picked Mohan Yadav as Madhya Pradesh CM over Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally announced its chief minister face for Madhya Pradesh. Mohan Yadav, a three-time MLA from Ujjain South, is the saffron party’s pick for the top job. He was elected at a meeting in Bhopal on Monday (11 December) in the presence of three central observers – Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP’s OBC Morcha head K Laxman and party national secretary Asha Lakra. Yadav will succeed Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has served four terms as MP’s CM. He will have two deputy chief ministers, Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla. Former Union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar will be the next Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker. Who is Mohan Yadav? Why did the BJP snub Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the top job? Let’s take a closer look. Mohan Yadav to be MP CM Mohan Yadav, 58, was the higher education minister in the outgoing Shivraj Chouhan-led government. He first became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 2013 when he bagged the Ujjain South seat. He retained the constituency in the 2018 Assembly elections. During the recent polls in MP, Yadav won from the same seat by 12,941 votes against Congress candidate Chetan Premnarayan Yadav.

The BJP won a landslide victory in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections held last month, securing 163 seats of the 230 seats. The Congress was reduced to just 66 seats and one seat was clinched by the Bharat Adivasi Party (BHRTADVSIP). According to the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha website, Yadav has earned multiple degrees, including BSc, LLB, MA in Political Science, MBA and PhD. Like his successor Chouhan, Yadav comes from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the state’s population. BJP general secretary and party MLA Kailash Vijayvargiya told CNN-News18 that it was Chouhan who suggested Yadav’s name for the CM post. Speaking to Indian Express, Rakesh Singh, the MLA from Jabalpur, also said that it was Chouhan who“kept this proposal for the CM name”. “He (Yadav) is an able administrator. We expect him to carry forward the party’s development policies.” Yadav was awarded by the President in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 for the promotion of tourism in Madhya Pradesh.

In 1982, he was the co-secretary of Madhav Science College Student Union and went on to become president two years later. Yadav also served as the city minister of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Ujjain in 1984 and became the department head in 1986. In 1988, Yadav was state co-secretary and a member of the national executive of the ABVP’s Madhya Pradesh unit. He was also co-area in-charge of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Ujjain city between 1993-95. The CM-designate is a part of BJP’s Madhya Pradesh working committee. “I am a small worker of the party. I thank all of you, the state leadership and the central leadership. With your love and support, I will try to fulfil my responsibilities,” Yadav said after he was declared the next MP of the BJP. Why did the BJP not pick Shivraj Singh Chouhan? The BJP has sidelined Chouhan and the party picking a new leader for the top job is being seen as the “end of the political road” for him in the state, as per NDTV.  The saffron party had gone to the polls without projecting a chief ministerial face and under a “collective leadership”, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi steering the campaign. The strategy did prove fruitful for the BJP as it recorded a thumping victory. However, the outgoing CM Chouhan’s popular welfare schemes, such as ‘Ladli Behna’, are also believed to have played a key role in the saffron party retaining power in MP. Chouhan, who was not portrayed as the CM face of the BJP to tackle any anti-incumbency against his government, earlier claimed he was not a contender for the top job. “Neither was I the CM contender earlier nor now. I am just a party worker and whatever post or duty the party will give I will fulfil that”. He said his next goal was to ensure the BJP’s triumph in all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the next year’s elections. The outgoing CM has also congratulated his successor. “I am confident that, under the able guidance of respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, you will take Madhya Pradesh to new heights of progress and development and will create new records in the field of public welfare. Many congratulations and best wishes for this new responsibility!” Chouhan wrote on X.

कर्मठ साथी श्री @DrMohanYadav51 जी को भाजपा विधायक दल की बैठक में मध्यप्रदेश का मुख्यमंत्री मनोनीत किये जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई।

मुझे विश्‍वास है कि आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल मार्गदर्शन में आप मध्यप्रदेश को प्रगति एवं विकास की नई ऊँचाइयों पर ले जायेंगे तथा… pic.twitter.com/NkVo2PrV9x

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) December 11, 2023

Yadav is a surpise pick who has beaten several heavyweights whose names were surfacing for the top post in the state, including Tomar, Prahlad Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Vijayvargiya. Multiple reports previously claimed that the BJP is expected to choose new faces in all three states in the Hindi heartland – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Vishnu Deo Sai was named Chhattisgarh CM on Sunday, while the BJP is yet to announce its face for the top job in Rajasthan. Sources had told NDTV that generational change could be a criterion for the saffron party while picking the CMs, along with keeping in mind the 2024 general elections. With inputs from agencies