BHOPAL/NEW DELHI: Minister of Higher Education in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet, Mohan Yadav, is set to be Chouhan’s successor as the new Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, on Monday.
Replacing the four-time CM, Yadav has won from his constituency in Ujjain on three occasions. Yadav’s entry into the fold of the CM’s office has been marked with multiple statements from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself which had coined the shift of the saffron party towards making moves towards appealing to the OBC community.
BJP MLA Govind Singh Rajput expresses joy as Mohan Yadav gets announced as the #MadhyaPradeshCM.
“This is a matter of great joy for us. He comes from an underprivileged background. We all congratulate him warmly on this significant achievement.”
Reports: @iAtulkrishan1
Video… pic.twitter.com/6ioS801FZ3— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) December 11, 2023
Thus, having an OBC face in Yadav will enable the saffron party to venture into the hinterlands of the community. Moreover, this will also mark a categoric shift from the Kirad, Rajput community, to an OBC community face. According to the 2011 census, 42 per cent of MP’s populace consists of people belonging to the OBC community.
Following Yadav’s appointment, Pradeep Agarwal, an MLA from the BJP, said that the people of the state wanted Chouhan to return to power once again but the leadership believed otherwise. “The people wanted Mama to come back to power but the party leadership believed otherwise. They chose to promote Dr Mohan Yadav and we have chosen to stick by it,” he said.
FLASH: #MohanYadav appointed as the new CM of #MadhyaPradesh with #JagdishDeora and #RajendraShukla elected as Deputy CMs.
After extensive deliberation, #BJP finalizes the leadership team for the state, setting the course for the next phase of governance.
Reports: @iAtulkrishan1… pic.twitter.com/XZZUtBkO4R— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) December 11, 2023
A similar pattern was followed by the saffron party in Chhattisgarh when they appointed Vishnu Deo Sai as the first tribal CM of the state. This replaced Bhupesh Baghel as the CM of the state, ending the upper caste dominion. According to the 2011 census, 30.62 per cent of the population in MP is comprised of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Presently, the saffron party has also declared two Deputy CMs in the state, having appointed Jagdish Deora and Rajendra Shukla for the post. However, Yadav has yet to appoint his Cabinet.
FLASH: #MohanYadav appointed as the new CM of #MadhyaPradesh, with #JagdishDeora and #RajendraShukla elected as Deputy CMs.
After extensive deliberation, #BJP finalizes the leadership team for the state, setting the course for the next phase of governance.#MadhyaPradeshCM… pic.twitter.com/33v7JZs0zL
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) December 11, 2023
The new CM had successfully defended his Ujjain seat with a margin of 12,941 votes against Congress candidate Chetan Premnarayan Yadav. Consequently, he had cruised to success in the nail-biter amassing 95,699 votes. On the other hand, Deora won from his Malhargarh constituency with a margin of 11,872 votes, while Shukla won a decisive victory from Rewa with a margin of 21,399 votes, defeating Congress’ Er. Rajendra Sharma in the constituency.