BJP veteran leader and four-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Union Cabinet on Sunday. Chouhan, 65, was administered oath by President Droupadi Murmu at the swearing-in ceremony at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan. This marks Chouhan’s first time as a Union minister in his more than three-decade-long political career. He won the Vidisha seat by a record margin of 8,21,408 votes in the general elections 2024 on Tuesday, according to the Election Commission of India. Chouhan was born on March 5, 1959, in Jait village, Sehore to Prem Singh Chouhan and Sundar Bai Chouhan.
He has a long association with the RSS and the student wings of the BJP. He was first elected to the State Assembly from Budhni Constituency in 1990 and was elected a Member of Parliament for the first time in his career in the 10th Lok Sabha from Vidisha Constituency in 1991. Chouhan has held various positions in the BJP, including General Secretary of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, National President of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, and Chairman of the House Committee (Lok Sabha). He was appointed as Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister in 2005 and served in the role until December 12, 2018. He took the oath as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh again on March 23, 2020, after 22 Congress MLAs, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, resigned, causing the Kamal Nath administration to collapse.
Chouhan is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s longest-serving chief minister, having served in the role for over 15 years.