Mohan Yadav, a 58-year-old representative from the Yadav OBC caste, has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh by the BJP. OBCs account for more than half of the state’s population, yet the Yadav community is not among the most powerful. This is a surprise pick by the BJP over four-time CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Mr. Mohan Yadav was voted as the leader of the BJP’s legislative party on Monday evening, just 15 days after the party defeated the Congress to win Madhya Pradesh. He congratulated the BJP as the outgoing Higher Education Minister, adding, “I am a modest party worker… ” I’d like to thank the party for this opportunity.”
Mr. Yadav met Governor Mangubhai Patel shortly after the BJP declaration and staked his claim to form the next administration.
Mohan Yadav’s appointment brings in a new political wave by the BJP
The move toward a new political setup indicates the determination to bring a new set of leaders to lead the politics ahead.
At the afternoon gathering of the BJP’s winning candidates in Bhopal, Chouhan submitted Yadav’s name to lead the party in the state legislature.
Mohan Yadav is going to be accompanied by two deputy chief ministers, Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla, while the Assembly Speaker will be former Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Mohan Yadav rose to popularity in 2021 when he stated that the Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas would be an elective (optional) course for first-year graduate students studying philosophy.
With the Lok Sabha elections just five months away, the BJP’s choice of a Yadav to lead its Madhya Pradesh government sends a strong signal to the Yadav community of Uttar Pradesh, which borders MP and Bihar, that the BJP has their best interests in mind. This will play a strong role in terms of the vote bank for the BJP in the elections of 2024.
In MP, the BJP adopted the Uttar Pradesh model of appointing two deputies to Yadav. The BJP chose a Dalit and a Brahmin to be Yadav’s deputies in MP, Devda and Shukla, respectively. Devda was elected from Mandsaur’s Malharganj seat, while Shukla was elected from Rewa.
BJP’s strategic moves
The party is strategically playing and appointing leaders because of the upcoming 2024 elections. Such moves are going to strongly influence the people.
The BJP’s effort to strike a caste balance in selecting its chief ministers and deputy chief ministers with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections and effect a generational shift in leadership in the Hindi heartland states may be repeated in Rajasthan, where the party is expected to announce the next chief minister’s name on December 12, 2023, potentially neutralizing the Congress’ demand for a caste census.
The surprise of the new face Mohan Yadav’s appointment as MP CM made people more anxious for the CM’s face in Rajasthan.
