Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan may have rather self-deprecatingly given credit to the Prime Minister’s leadership for the party’s spectacular win but the astounding poll result irrefutably testifies to the fact that his 18-year-long rule has not diminished his own popularity, particularly among women. He has comprehensively punctured all that talk in the run up to the elections that face-fatigue would prove to be his nemesis.
Having pulled off the jaw-dropping victory under his leadership, Chouhan has posed an acute dilemma before the BJP high command whether to retain him for a record fifth time. The BJP high command had not projected Chouhan as CM, apparently fearing damage to the party’s prospects, but his overarching presence in the poll arena forced the party to restore his authority soon enough. The course-correction paid-off.
Congress Needs Fresh Blood
To be fair to the vanquished Congress, the party did not spare any effort to snatch power from the BJP. It put up a united face, campaigned vigorously, organised its star campaigners’ rallies efficiently, kept the morale of the workers high, raised the issues that affect the common voters, promised a plethora of freebies and neutralised Hindutva’s emotional appeal among MP voters.
But the Congress miserably failed to match the BJP’s organisational behemoth and vast resourses. Also, the Congress was helpless before the seemingly omnipotent combination of Mama’s ingenious electoral tricks and the Modi magic.
People have outright rejected the two-man gerontocracy of Kamalnath (77) and Digvijaya Singh (76) under whose leadership the Congress fought the election. Much as they sought to downplay their ‘fraternal joust’ over Kamal Nath’s “tear Digvijaya’s clothes” remark, the duo gratuitously gave the BJP an issue to snidely highlight the “Congress culture.”
From the Prime Minister down to BJP candidates ,all made fun of the “Kapda Phad” politics in the Congress.
The BJP 'System'
In the 20 years of its rule, the BJP has entrenched itself so deep in Madhya Pradesh that issues such as corruption, unemployment and atrocities against Dalit and Adivasis don’t agitate the people enough to consider switching loyalty from the saffron ideology. The ideology has deep penetration in all institutions, be it culture, academics, bureaucracy or trading community.
BJP’s sympathisers and foot-soldiers in this ecosystem help overtly and covertly the party when it is election time. The Chief Minister’s confidence to weather any political storm stemmed from this vast network. That confidence was evident in this election, though the Congress sought to dismiss it as mere bravado in the face of imminent defeat.
Significantly, the network has been built assiduously through Shivraj Singh’s stewardship, and, therefore, it owes greater allegiance to him as leader than the BJP. It is his stature as the biggest OBC leader that ensured failure of the caste census card of the Congress. Again, his credentials as adorable “ Mama” made women flock to the voting booths on November 17 in a record number to vote for the BJP.
Among the BJP candidates, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was more in demand than even the Prime Minister. Chouhan covered 130 out of 230 seats on the campaign trail even amid the clouds of uncertainly were hanging on his fate as future chief minister. Other party stalwarts including the three union ministers in the fray felt compelled, albeit grudgingly, to admit superiority of Chouhan’s leadership.
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