The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opted for a change in the leadership in Madhya Pradesh, as it has decided to pass on the chief ministerial post to second-rung leader Mohan Yadav. This marks the end of the era of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was the state's CM for most of the last 20 years, barring a 15-month period.
The proposal to appoint Yadav as the head of the next state government was tabled by Chouhan before the BJP legislature party meeting in Bhopal, said VD Sharma, the state unit chief of the BJP. The party's MLA-elects, including senior leaders Narendra Singh Tomar, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Prahlad Patel -- who were said to be in the chief ministerial race -- gave their assent to the proposal.
Yadav, 58, is a three-time legislator from the South Ujjain constituency. He was part of the state cabinet in the outgoing Chouhan-led government, serving as the minister for higher education.
The choice of Yadav, say political analysts, was also factored-in by his caste background, as he belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community.
The CM-designate is also considered to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the ruling BJP, reports said.
Track Live: Mohan Yadav's selection as CM and other political updates from MP
Here's a look at the political journey of Mohan Yadav:
Yadav, born on March 25, 1965, entered student politics in the 1980s. He was elected as the co-secretary of Madhav Vigyan Mahavidyalaya Student Union in 1982, and went on to become its chairman in 1984.
During the late 80s' and early 1990s, he continued to remain an office-bearer in the Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' wing linked to the RSS.
In 2003, Yadav was appointed as a member of BJP's Madhya Pradesh working committee. From 2004-10, he served as the chairman of Ujjain Development Authority. The position also accorded him the rank of a minister of state in the state government.
Between 2011 and 2013, Yadav was appointed as the chairman of the Bhopal unit of Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation.
He made his debut in the state legislative Assembly in 2013, winning the election from South Ujjain. The seat was successfully retained by him in the 2018 and 2023 elections.
In June 2020, Chouhan, the then CM, had inducted Yadav into his cabinet and assigned him to the crucial portfolio of higher education. He continued to head the ministry till the conclusion of the government's tenure.
In terms of education, Yadav holds a bachelor's degree in science (BSc), along with a degree in law (LLB) and a master's in political science. The BJP leader is counted amongst the highly educated politicians of the state, as he also holds an MBA degree, along with the title of doctorate.
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