Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan greets supporters during his visit to Raghogarh, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bhopal: A tweet by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying “Ram Ram to all” from his X account on Saturday raised speculations if it was the end of his long inning as CM of the state. The tweet was, however, later deleted.
The suspense over the next CM in the state after BJP's landslide victory is likely to end after the BJP legislative party meeting scheduled at 7 pm on Monday. The name of the next CM is likely to be announced after the meeting.
Party’s central leadership has already announced a 3-member Observer Committee comprising Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP national OBC Morcha president K Laxman and national secretary Asha Lakra for the meeting with newly elected MLAs and to declare a new CM of the state.
Although there is a lot of buzz around other contenders, Chouhan is still considered as the front-runner. However, the Ram-Ram tweet by Chouhan has given rise to much discussion in the political arena.
Others in the race for CM post include names like Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, Kailash Vijayvargiya, among others. Also, the dark horse could be Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia who further strengthened his position by winning 18 seats out of 34 in Gwalior and Chambal region against all odds. Scindia proved his critics wrong who had predicted maximum 10 to 12 seats for BJP in Gwalior and Chambal region.
All the senior leaders from MP, except for Chouhan, were seen lobbying on the pretext of a courtesy visit to PM Modi, Union HM Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Naddha in New Delhi after the Assembly victory.
Meanwhile, Chouhan was busy touring the constituencies where BJP did not fare well, including Chhindwara. He also announced to kickstart Lok Sabha campaign to accomplish his Mission-29 -- all 29 Lok Sabha seats for BJP. He even vowed to garland Modi with 29 lotus-laden garland as victory present in the next LS election.
When quizzed by media regarding the 'Ram Ram tweet', BJP state president V D Sharma said that the tweet by Chouhan should not be construed politically. "It is our custom and tradition to chant Ram-Ram. And the entire nation will chant 'Ram-Ram' during inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya," he said.