Set to sweep MP, Chouhan says his 'secret' is good governance

Thrilled at poll projections that saw his government easily returning to power, Madhya Pradesh chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said good governance was key to his party’s success in the state.

The CNN-IBN/ The Week poll which was conducted by Delhi-based research organisation CSDS and Lokniti that covered 2870 respondents in 35 constituencies in the state, projected that the BJP was likely to register a six percent rise in vote share compared to 2008.

In the previous assembly election, the party had secured a vote share of 37.6 percent; it goes up to 44 percent. The Congress’ vote share increases marginally from 32.4 percent to 33 percent but that is hardly enough to topple the BJP.

Speaking to CNN-IBN shortly after the poll result was made public, a visibly happy Chouhan said, " We have been providing good governance to Madhya Pradesh every single day. And we have done this work keeping in mind that the entire 7.5 crore population is one family. We have just acted like the head of the family and provided governance."

The Chief Minister added that he believed people are satisfied with essential needs such as water, electricity and roads.

The poll findings seemed to back this belief, with a massive 63 percent of poll respondents saying that the road situation has improved and 65 percent saying that the electricity situation has improved. Chouhan’s government has added 95,000 km of roads and more than 10,000 megawatts of power during its tenure.

“The survey shows the colossal achievements of Shivraj Singh Chouhan in certain key sectors,” right-wing journalist Swapan Dasgupta said on a CNN-IBN panel discussion.

“Electricity and roads are the two major issues which plagued Madhya Pradesh – you had Digvijay’s government, which was undone by these things. ( Read more on the panel discussion here )

When asked for his secret, Chouhan’s answer seemed to indicate that it was sticking to the basics that had paid off.

“We belong to the people, the people belong to us. We want to serve the people with one mission to keep on improving the services we provide to the people. If there is anything to governance it is this. The people should feel that something has changed for the better”.

If Chouhan does indeed win as expected, it would mark his third term as Chief Minister - a feat that he would share with BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. However unlike the Gujarat Chief Minister Chouhan has ruled out an entry into national politics.

“My body, soul and mind is dedicated to the people of Madhya Pradesh. I dont look beyond it or think beyond it”, he said.