BJP Deploys Key Players In Madhya Pradesh – A Challenge For Shivraj Chouhan?

The BJP appears to be applying pressure on Shivraj Singh Chouhan, their longest-serving chief minister, as they refrained from disclosing his constituency in the second list of candidates for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections released on Monday.

Instead, the incumbent party has mobilized its prominent figures to address the aspirations of senior regional leaders, maximize support from top leadership in constituencies of vulnerability, and create a competitive field for the chief ministerial position.

A review of 76 out of the total 230 candidates released so far reveals this strategy. Currently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes center stage in the BJP's electoral campaign in the state.

In a startling development that has sent shockwaves through political circles, the party made an unexpected decision to nominate seven Lok Sabha members, among them three serving union ministers, and its national general secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya, just hours following Prime Minister Modi's visit to Bhopal. Notably, four of these candidates have previously served as MLAs.

Mr. Vijayvargiya is entering state-level elections after a decade, following his second victory in the Mhow seat of his native Indore district in 2013. He will be running for the Indore-1 constituency.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tomar is making his Vidhan Sabha election comeback after a gap of two decades. His last assembly win was in Gwalior for the second consecutive time in 2003.

Additionally, three Union Ministers, namely Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste, have thrown their hats into the ring as well, further intensifying the political landscape.

The ruling party appears to be making an effort to maintain equilibrium among its senior regional leaders on the electoral battleground, aiming to leverage their wealth of experience and influence across distinct regions and caste groups for maximum political advantage.

By nominating seven incumbent MPs, the party not only aims to secure victory in vulnerable constituencies but also intends to extend the influence of these seasoned politicians to neighboring seats, ensuring their sustained impact on the political landscape.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief and former chief minister Kamal Nath has claimed that the BJP has "accepted defeat."

"The list of BJP candidates denying the claims of 18.5 years of BJP government and more than 15 years of Shivraji development is a sure seal of internal defeat of BJP which claims to be a party of crores of workers," he posted on X (formery Twitter) in Hindi.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala went a step further, asserting that the BJP's move to bring in top central leaders is a sign of the Congress party's formidable presence in the state. He alleged that Mr. Chouhan, anticipating his own defeat, aims to drag down these prominent leaders, who are political rivals, along with him in his bid to salvage the situation for his party in the state.

In the competitive lineup, there are four additional Lok Sabha MPs vying for seats: Ganesh Singh, a four-time MP from Satna, who is seeking re-election from his present constituency; Riti Pathak, a second-term MP from Sidhi Lok Sabha seat, who has secured the ticket for the Sishi assembly seat; Rakesh Singh, a four-time MP from Jabalpur, who is running for the Jabalpur-West seat; and Uday Pratap Singh, a three-term MP from Hoshangabad, who is entering the fray in the Gadarwara seat of Narsinghpur district.