By Express News Service
BHOPAL: The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh ended the uncertainty about whether its longest serving CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest the polls. Having already named candidates for 79 out of the total 230 seats in the last two months, the ruling party released its fourth list of 57 candidates, which included Shivraj Singh Chouhan from his home seat Budhni in Sehore district for the sixth time.
With this, the BJP put to rest speculation, including the possibility of Chouhan, either not contesting the next month’s elections or being shifted from his pocket borough to a challenging seat. Chouhan won his home seat five times, including four times in a row (1990, 2006, 2008, 2013 and 2018). Political circles were abuzz with possibilities of the five-time former Vidisha MP either being fielded in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls or else being shifted to a challenging seat in the assembly polls.
Even the CM during his recent speech in Dindori district had asked people whether he should contest the assembly polls. The speculation appeared to gain strength after the party named seven of its sitting MPs (including three Union ministers) as candidates in its second list for assembly polls, released on September 25. Five of those sitting MPs, including two Union ministers and the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, have been fielded from assembly seats that the BJP had lost by considerable margins in 2018.
Monday’s 57-candidate list not only featured the CM but also included his 24 cabinet colleagues. The party continued to show trust in many ministers who, as per party’s internal surveys, are said to be facing high anti-incumbency or have crossed 70 years of age. The fourth list also included the names of Jyotiraditya Scindia-loyalist ministers and MLAs, including Govind Singh Rajput, Dr Prabhuram Chowdhary and Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon, among others.
BHOPAL: The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh ended the uncertainty about whether its longest serving CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest the polls. Having already named candidates for 79 out of the total 230 seats in the last two months, the ruling party released its fourth list of 57 candidates, which included Shivraj Singh Chouhan from his home seat Budhni in Sehore district for the sixth time.
With this, the BJP put to rest speculation, including the possibility of Chouhan, either not contesting the next month’s elections or being shifted from his pocket borough to a challenging seat. Chouhan won his home seat five times, including four times in a row (1990, 2006, 2008, 2013 and 2018). Political circles were abuzz with possibilities of the five-time former Vidisha MP either being fielded in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls or else being shifted to a challenging seat in the assembly polls.
Even the CM during his recent speech in Dindori district had asked people whether he should contest the assembly polls. The speculation appeared to gain strength after the party named seven of its sitting MPs (including three Union ministers) as candidates in its second list for assembly polls, released on September 25. Five of those sitting MPs, including two Union ministers and the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, have been fielded from assembly seats that the BJP had lost by considerable margins in 2018.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Monday’s 57-candidate list not only featured the CM but also included his 24 cabinet colleagues. The party continued to show trust in many ministers who, as per party’s internal surveys, are said to be facing high anti-incumbency or have crossed 70 years of age. The fourth list also included the names of Jyotiraditya Scindia-loyalist ministers and MLAs, including Govind Singh Rajput, Dr Prabhuram Chowdhary and Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon, among others.
