Shivraj provides Modi six-pack political power

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh is reaping a rich harvest of power from two back-to-back elections held over the past eight months. While four MPs from the state are already in the new Union cabinet another source of women’s power will be the new Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan, 71, one of the most experienced parliamentarians who has risen from the ranks and hasn’t lost an election since 1989. Mahajan seems set to be elected the Speaker on Friday. The BJP can ensure another Rajya Sabha seat from the state with its hefty majority in the assembly. Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar filed papers for the Upper House in Bhopal on Saturday to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Faggan Singh Kulaste who has returned to Lok Sabha from Mandla. That gives the the state bragging rights to have provided the Centre with six-pack political power. Javadekar can retain the seat till April 2018.[caption id=“attachment_1560479” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. PTI[/caption] Then there is Uma Bharti, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, who is now a member of Parliament from Jhansi. The other ministers from the state Sushma Swaraj (Vidisha), Thawarchand Gehlot (Shajapur), Narendra Singh Tomar (Gwalior) and Najma Heptullah—former vice-chairman of Rajya Sabha—have all had a long and rich experience in Parliament. Many familiar faces, including that of the Speaker in the outgoing Lok Sabha Meira Kumar, will be missing when President Pranab Mukherjee addresses the joint session of Parliament on Monday. But Sumitra Mahajan, country’s first woman parliamentarian to have won eight times in a row from the same Lok Sabha constituency more than makes up as a familiar face. Her experience caps the performance of the state’s representatives. Mahajan has been preferred over the other eight-time member Karia Munda and another veteran Murli Manohar Joshi. Madhya Pradesh has, along with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, played a major role in the turnaround of the BJP’s fortunes. But, among the heartland states the victory Madhya Pradesh in the November assembly elections proved to be a booster for the BJP which had lost successive elections in states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka. Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had criss-crossed the state to create a wave in the party’s favour. Modi visited the state 15 times since he was introduced in September as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Chouhan and Modi’s perceived rivalry had aroused curiosity and concern. They teamed up well not only to ensure a comprehensive victory for the BJP in the assembly elections but set the mood in the party to go for a kill in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress, which was hoping to sway the younger voters with Rahul Gandh’s face, recorded its poorest performance in both the elections. The BJP influenced the debutant voters better. Conjectures of turmoil in the BJP over Modi’s growing impatience with the party elders and the drama over the party’s refusal to let Advani contest from Bhopal instead of Gandhinagar were proved wrong. They were not without reason though. For instance Chouhan who got a large share of credit for victory in the assembly elections was never part of the central parliamentary board. Besides, the political observers felt the priority for the central leadership would shift since assembly elections are due in other states like Maharashtra where Shiv Sena has emerged stronger. Also Madhya Pradesh can offer only seat in the Rajya Sabha while the BJP needs support from other parties in other states in the Upper House. But the party preferred to make the most of the experience of Madhya Pradesh leaders. The growing clout at the Centre is bound to arouse expectations from Chouhan’s government, which can no longer hide behind the excuse of Delhi’s hostility. Modi’s emphasis on sensitivity to the needs of states should ensure issues about the Madhya Pradesh are not overlooked. Chouhan had often said his appeal for help after unseasonal floods in March was met with indifference at the Centre. Even if it is too early to judge the new government at the Centre, the Madhya Pradesh government’s demand for Rs 5,000 crore Central assistance to the farmers looks preposterous. The state government has already set out to change the work culture. It is cutting down on holidays. It rarely had more than 200 working days in a year. Now there are plans to do away with holidays on second and third Saturdays. The Modi effect is palpable.