MP CM Chouhan registers for BJP’s legislature party meeting to be held today to elect CM of state

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India]: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday registered his name for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s legislature party meeting scheduled to be held in the state capital Bhopal to elect the CM of state. 

State BJP chief VD Sharma registered the newly elected BJP MLAs for the meeting. The meeting will be organised under the supervision of BJP observers for Madhya Pradesh, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP MP K Laxman and party leader Asha Lakra here at the party office. All the three BJP observers announced for the state arrived here on Monday morning. 

Meanwhile, supporters of all the leaders are present outside the state BJP office and cheering for their leaders to become the Chief Minister. Some workers are standing with posters of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in their hands and wishing to make him the Chief Minister again. While supporters of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya are also raising slogans in favour of these leaders. 

Notably, this is the first time since 2005 that the BJP has appointed central observers for the state. In 2005 when former CM Babu Lal Gaur left the CM post the BJP had appointed observors, after that, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the oath for the first time as Chief Minister of the state in November 2005. Earlier, the central observers were appointed in 2004 when former CM Uma Bharti left the CM post and after that, Babu Lal Gaur was appointed as CM of the state. 

Since then, no central observers have been appointed in the state. During the state assembly polls in 2008 and 2013, BJP remained in power and Chouhan continued to be the CM of the state. 

During the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress returned to power with veteran leader Kamal Nath taking the oath as the chief minister but a political upheaval rocked the state in 2020 after then-Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 loyalist MLAs, switched over to the BJP camp. 

The Congress government fell after being reduced to a minority and the BJP formed the government, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as chief minister. 

But this time again, when the BJP emerged victorious with a thumping majority, the party has appointed central observers giving rise to speculations on a change of guard. 

Madhya Pradesh went to poll for 230 assembly seats in a single phase on November 17 and the counting of votes was done on December 3. 

The BJP, which had been battling close to 20 years of incumbency in the state, won a resounding mandate, bagging 163 seats, while the Congress finished a distant second at 66 seats.