The BJP legislative party in Madhya Pradesh elected Mohan Yadav – former higher education minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet – as the new chief minister. The 58-year-old Yadav has been elected an MLA from Ujjain South constituency for the third time in the recently concluded assembly polls and his name was nowhere even on margins of speculative discussions on chief ministerial face for Madhya Pradesh.
That his name was decided by the top leadership before the legislative party was asked to stamp an approval, is apparent.
Meanwhile, eight-time MLA and former finance minister Jagdish Devda who represents the scheduled caste reserved Malhargarh constituency in Mandsaur and five-time MLA and ex-public relations minister Rajendra Shukla – a Brahmin leader who represents Rewa constituency in crucial Vindhya region – have been named as deputy CMs.
Former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been named as the assembly speaker candidate for the party – a post that the BJP is expected to win easily even if there is an election for the post when the house is in session.
Through these names, the BJP has tried to balance out crucial caste elements like OBCs who constitute the highest population in the state, the scheduled caste and the general category people. Both Shukla and Tomar (Rajput) belong to the general category. Now, whether the BJP will make a tribal leader its state president to further balance out things remains to be seen. As the current president V.D. Sharma is also a Brahmin, a change of face is likely before the Lok Sabha polls, political watchers say.
Also the future role of ex-chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the most popular leader in the state, will be interesting to watch out for, political commentators say. Chouhan was the one to propose the name of Yadav for the post of leader of the legislative party, but such formal actions are part of the script finalized by top leaders of the party.
Yadav, an OBC leader, is a well known Hindutva face in the crucial Malwa-Nimar region that is a BJP stronghold and is considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He has actively taken steps to introduce saffron elements in the higher education syllabus in the state.
Chapters based on religious texts and epics such as Ramcharitmanas, Bhagwad Gita and Mahabharata were introduced for undergraduate courses in colleges of the state under the National Education Policy (NEP) in 2021. Yadav had defended the move saying there was nothing wrong in introducing young students to the culture of the country.
A PhD degree holder in political science from Ujjain University, Yadav has risen to the top post from being a students’ leader associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in early 1980s. He was first elected from Ujjain South in 2013 and, during his second term as MLA, was made the higher education minister of Shivraj Singh Chouhan ministry in 2020.
“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. Yadav is a three-time MLA from Ujjain Dakshin. In July 2020, he took oath as a minister in the then Shivraj cabinet.
