In Madhya Pradesh, if there’s one leader with the highest demand for BJP’s election campaigning, it’s former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Most of the candidates’ efforts were focused on having Chouhan hold as many public meetings as possible in their parliamentary constituencies.
Although Chouhan is no longer the Chief Minister, his popularity in the state has not diminished due to the work, decisions, and conduct during his tenure. Women from any caste or community are ready to do anything on ‘Mama’ Chouhan’s signal.
Although Chouhan is contesting elections again after 18 years on the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat, the discussion there is not about his victory but about setting a new record of victory across the country. Chouhan appears among the common people in his parliamentary constituency as much as time allows him.
On his seat, the public is the one contesting the elections. Chouhan, 65, was elected as the Member of Parliament from Vidisha five times from 1991 to 2004. After that, he was elected as a legislator six times. He made a record of being the Chief Minister for the longest time in Madhya Pradesh, having served four terms. The party won the election under his leadership last year.
Famous as ‘Mama’, Chouhan created schemes for women while serving as Chief Minister, but the Ladli Behna Yojana broke all popularity records. The small amount of Rs 1,200 received by women from poor families through this scheme has provided so much stability that they may never forget Chouhan.
Because in any religion, after marriage, a woman becomes completely dependent on her in-laws and husband. According to traditions, when help is received from the maternal home, it provides relief. However, after the Ladli scheme, with Rs 1200 directly coming into the account of every woman in the household, her dependence on others has ended.
Consequently, Chouhan became popular, and the Ladli Yojana became an issue even in the Lok Sabha elections. In his speeches, Chouhan now mentions the Ladli Yojana and talks about making women millionaires like Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheme of making sisters-in-law millionaires.
Chouhan also counts Prime Minister Modi’s achievements. Posters of Prime Minister Modi are seen not only in his parliamentary constituency but also across the entire state. There is no parliamentary seat where he is not being called for campaigning.
Central Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s parliamentary constituency, Guna, has been visited two or three times. He had to hold two public meetings in one day. On average, 6 to 7 rallies are held daily. He has conducted more than 50 public meetings across the entire state. In the third phase, on May 7, he will be in Vidisha, Guna, Gwalior, Rajgarh,
Chouhan is competing against Congress’s veteran leader and two-time MP Pratap Bhanu Sharma. Sharma, who was close to Rajiv Gandhi, has not contested elections since 1991.
Chouhan defeated him in the last election. After Chouhan’s victory, he made an entry into Madhya Pradesh politics in a way and did not look back afterward. After winning five consecutive elections, he became a legislator and then the Chief Minister again. Pratap Bhanu Sharma remained active in politics, but he refrained from contesting elections.
After the party’s decisive defeat in the assembly elections, he prepared to contest elections at the party’s behest. Attacking the BJP and Prime Minister Modi on national issues, he is contesting elections. However, despite the circumstances like Congress, they are fighting elections in the same way. Meanwhile, Chouhan’s concern is not just about winning, but about achieving a victory that sets a new record. Now it will be known on June 4th whether the record is made or not.
