Bhopal/New Delhi, December 11: Mohan Yadav was named the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on Monday after hours of deliberations between Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar-led central observers and party MLAs. Yadav, 58, is an OBC legislator from Ujjain South who had become MLA for the first time in 2013 and was higher education minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Jagdish Dewra, MLA from Mandsour, and Rajesh Shukla, MLA from Bijawar, were named as two Deputy CMs while former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was named as Speaker.
The BJP legislative party meeting started around 4 pm after a photo session of all MLAs at the state party office in Bhopal.
During the photo session, BJP central observer and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was flanked by former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and state party chief V.D. Sharma.
Dramatic scenes were scene outside the BJP state office where supporters of several probable CM candidates gathered and shouted slogans in favour of their leaders. Many supporters of regional leaders were seen holding posters.
Earlier, Khattar met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for over an hour on Monday, soon after landing in Bhopal. Dr K Laxman and Asha Lakra were accompanying Khattar.
Political analysts said the party’s new Chief Minister pick and deputies is aimed at consolidating the party’s position ahead of parliamentary election and move ahead with the motto “double engine government in top gear”.
The new CM and his team will get specific responsibilities to implement Union-government-sponsored schemes in specific assembly constituencies coming under each of the 29 parliamentary seats so as to retain 28 seats or improve BJP’s performance in Lok Sabha election, said the analyst.
The BJP, which is known to be a disciplined party, had to name central observers last time in the state in 2005 when former Chief Minister Babu Lal Gaur left the top post. After that, Chouhan took the oath for the first time as Chief Minister of the state in November 2005. The central observers were also 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 so speculations are being made in the political corridor that the party may bring a new CM face in the state.
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 anti-incumbency in the state, won a resounding mandate, bagging 163 seats, while the Congress finished a distant second at 66 seats.