BJP leader Mohan Yadav is set to become the 19th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Springing a major surprise, the BJP on December 11 selected Ujjain-Dakshin (South) MLA Dr. Mohan Yadav as its legislature party leader and the next Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Apart from Mr. Yadav, who hails from the Other Backward Class (OBC), the new BJP government will also have two deputy CMs — Malhargarh MLA Jagdish Devda, a Dalit, and Rewa MLA Rajendra Shukla, a Brahmin. The OBCs constitute about 52% of the State’s population while there are nearly 17% people from the Scheduled Caste.
Narendra Singh Tomar, who recently resigned as a Union Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament following his victory in the Assembly polls, has been chosen as the next Assembly Speaker.
Set to become the 19th CM of the State, Mr. Yadav’s name was proposed by the outgoing CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the BJP legislature party meet in Bhopal and supported by senior party leaders and MLAs, including Mr. Tomar, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Prahlad Singh Patel, M.P. BJP president V.D. Sharma said.
The decision was taken in the presence of BJP’s central observers Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, party’s OBC Morcha chief K. Lakshman, and party’s national secretary Asha Lakra.
Following the announcement, Mr. Yadav accompanied by other senior leaders met State Governor Mangubhai Patel and staked claim to form the government. Mr. Chouhan also submitted his resignation to the Governor.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place on or after December 13 when the newly elected Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai will take his oath. M.P. BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said that the final date will be decided based on the confirmation from the Prime Minister.
A three-term MLA from Ujjain-Dakshin, Mr. Yadav will replace Mr. Chouhan as the Madhya Pradesh CM, who has held the top post since 2005 barring the 15-Month period from December 2018 to March 2020 when the Congress was in power in the State.
In the recent State Assembly elections, Mr. Yadav won from his Ujjain Dakshin seat by 12,941 votes. He had won the Assembly seat for the first time in 2013 and also retained it in 2018.
He was currently holding the higher education portfolio in Mr. Chouhan’s incumbent government and has also served as the chairperson of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation from 2011 to 2013, in the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
While Mr. Yadav and Mr. Devda hail from the Malwa-Nimar region, Mr. Shukla hails from the Vindhya region. In the recent State polls, the BJP won a massive 45 seat out of 66 in Malwa-Nimar, improving its tally from 28 in 2018. The BJP once again swept the Vindhya region by winning 25 of 30 seats.
Mr. Devda and Mr. Shukla were also Ministers in the outgoing government holding important portfolios.
Speaking to the media after the announcement, Mr. Yadav thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit and BJP national president J.P. Nadda. He also thanked Mr. Chouhan and M.P. BJP president V.D. Sharma among other State leaders.
“A small worker like me has been given such a huge responsibility. It is only possible in the BJP. This is the BJP’s character. I thank the party for choosing me as the legislature party leader, he said.
“We will carry forward the development works started by PM Modi ji and Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji,” Mr. Yadav added.
Reiterating the BJP’s election campaign slogan “MP ke mann me Modi, Modi ke mann me MP”, Mr. Yadav said that the new government will work as per the Prime Minister’s dream.
The decision also puts an end to days of speculations on various names that had been doing rounds as the BJP’s pick for the CM post. Among those whose names were being speculated were Mr. Chouhan, Mr. Tomar, Mr. Patel, Mr. Sharma, Mr. Vijayvargiya and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Later in the evening, Mr. Yadav also said that his name even came as a surprise to him.
“I was sitting in the back row doing my work and my name came up all of a sudden,” he said, speaking to news agency ANI.
Mr. Chouhan, taking to X, congratulated Mr. Yadav, Mr. Devda, Mr. Shukla and Mr. Tomar on their appointments.
“I am confident that under the able guidance of respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, you will take Madhya Pradesh to new heights of progress and development and will create new records in the field of public welfare. Many congratulations and best wishes for this new responsibility!” Mr. Chouhan said, congratulating Mr. Yadav.
Madhya Pradesh CM announcement Updates: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is finally announced the name of the chief minister-elect in Madhya Pradesh after the BJP observers met the newly elected BJP MLAs in the state. Mohan Yadav, who is an MLA from Ujjain South, is the Madhya Pradesh chief minister-elect. He was a minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet.
Mohan Yadav’s name comes as a surprise as the front runners for the top post were four-time MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Prahlad Patel, newly-elected Dimani MLA Narendra Tomar, Indore heavyweight Kailash Vijayvargiya, state unit chief VD Sharma and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in Madhya Pradesh following the November 17 polls, winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly, leaving the Congress a distant second with 66 seats. Stay with LiveMint for Madhya Pradesh CM announcement updates:
Jagdish Devda, Rajendra Shukla to be new Deputy CMs of Madhya Pradesh
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday selected Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla as the new Deputy Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh.
The decision was taken in the Legislative party meeting conducted in Bhopal in the presence of the central observers Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha head K Laxman and secretary Asha Lakra.
Rajendra Shukla said that he is committed to fulfil his duties with honesty whatever responsibility is assigned by the party.
“We carry out with honesty, whatever responsibility is assigned by the party. Since 2003, our government has left no stone unturned to ensure that the state progresses and there is the welfare of the people of the state. Even in the times ahead, we will meet the expectations of the people,” he added.
Moreover, Jagdish Devda, who has been named as the deputy chief minister of the state, said that he will perform whatever responsibility will be assigned to him.
Madhya Pradesh: BJP reposes faith in OBCs, picks Mohan Yadav as new CM; Chouhan era ends
Ending days of suspense, the BJP on Monday picked Mohan Yadav, a three-time MLA from temple town Ujjain as the new chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, once again reposing its faith in the numerically strong Other Backward Classes (OBC) and denying stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan a record fifth term in office. More than a week after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s resounding victory in the assembly polls, the ruling outfit’s legislature wing elected Yadav (58), a minister in the Chouhan government and a prominent OBC leader, as its leader at a meeting held here in the presence of central observers, paving the way for him to take over as the next CM. The state will also have two deputy chief ministers — Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda — outgoing chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan posted on X.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigns as MP CM after Mohan Yadav elected new BJP legislative party leader
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan submitted his resignation to Governor Mangubhai Patel after Mohan Yadav was elected as the leader of the state legislative party at a meeting held here on Monday.
Chouhan reached Raj Bhavan immediately after the meeting of newly-elected MLAs concluded and tendered his resignation.
The BJP has picked Mohan Yadav (58), an OBC leader and a three-time MLA, as the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, state party president VD Sharma said.
Chouhan had served as chief minister for four terms.
Narendra Singh Tomar to be speaker of MP assembly; state to have two deputy CMs
The BJP on Monday named its senior leader Narendra Singh Tomar as the new speaker of the Madhya Pradesh assembly, party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
The state will have two deputy chief ministers- Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, the outgoing chief minister posted on X.
At the legislature party meeting held here in the evening, the BJP elected Mohan Yadav as its leader, paving the way for him to take over as the next chief minister.
Mohan Yadav: Hindutva proponent and BJP’s key OBC leader from temple town Ujjain
Chief Minister-designate Mohan Yadav, an OBC leader and three-time BJP MLA, started his political career when he was a student and rose to become higher education minister of Madhya Pradesh where he announced to make Hindu epic ‘Ramcharitmanas’ as an optional subject in colleges in 2021. In a surprise move, Yadav was on Monday evening elected as the BJP legislature party leader at a meeting in Bhopal, paving the way for him to take over as the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. The 58-year-old politician, considered to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is seen as a vocal Hindutva leader. He is a three-time MLA from Ujjain South and a prominent leader of OBCs, who account for more than 48 per cent of the state’s population. He first became a minister in 2020 when the BJP came back to power following the collapse of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath.
11 Dec 2023, 07:50:53 PM IST
Picking Mohan Yadav for MP CM’s post best step by central leadership: state BJP chief
Madhya Pradesh BJP president VD Sharma on Monday said the Central leadership has taken the best step in picking Mohan Yadav as the next chief minister.
Congratulating Yadav, Sharma said, “The party has chosen an ordinary and good worker as the legislature party leader”.
“From day one, I had been telling to the media that the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, Amit Shahji, and BJP president JP Naddaji will take the best step for Madhya Pradesh,” he told reporters.