Will Shivraj Singh Chauhan not contest the assembly elections this time?

MP Election 2023: BJP has released the second list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. BJP has fielded 7 MPs including Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste by giving them legislative tickets. Besides, BJP's National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has also been made a candidate again after 10 years, but the name of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has not been announced yet. In such a situation, questions are being raised whether Shivraj Singh Chauhan will contest the assembly elections this time or not.

The BJP top leadership is giving priority to candidates trusted by PM Modi and Amit Shah instead of leaders close to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. According to sources, names of BJP candidates are being finalized from Delhi instead of Bhopal. Not only this, the way BJP has fielded leaders equivalent to Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the assembly elections, it also has political implications. This time BJP has not made any leader the CM face and now by fielding veteran leaders, it has left the option of CM face open, which is being considered as a direct signal for Shivraj.

Shivraj Singh Chauhan became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in the year 2005, after which he remained on that post continuously till 2018. BJP had made Shivraj Singh Chauhan the CM face for the post of CM in the 2008, 2013 and 2018 assembly elections, but this time the party is not opening its cards. Instead of declaring the face of the Chief Minister, BJP is contesting the elections in the name of collective leadership and PM Modi. Shivraj Singh Chauhan has been holding the post of Chief Minister for 16 years and 7 months. Naturally there is bound to be an anti-incumbency wave against Shivraj Singh.

Why is BJP avoiding taking chances on Shivraj?

The way surveys are coming out in the media regarding Madhya Pradesh elections, it is also indicating that BJP is having to fight the anti-incumbency wave in the state. This is the reason why BJP is avoiding placing its bets on Shivraj Singh Chouhan this time and now the party has fielded 7 MPs including three Union Ministers in the second list. It is clear from this that BJP does not want to take risk by fielding Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

If sources are to be believed, Shivraj Singh Chauhan himself may step back from contesting the assembly elections this time. Last year in the Gujarat Assembly elections, it was seen that former CM Vijay Rupani and former Deputy CM Nitin Patel themselves had refused to contest the elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, many senior BJP leaders like Uma Bharti, Sushma Swaraj, Kalraj Mishra had withdrawn from contesting the elections. Following the same formula, can Shivraj Singh Chauhan also announce that he will not contest the elections? Indications of this are visible since PM Modi's visit, after this the list of candidates coming and Shivraj's name not being there is strengthening this suspicion.

PM Modi did not take Shivraj's name

While addressing the concluding program of Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Bhopal on Monday, PM Modi did not take the name of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan even once. He did not even take the name of even a single scheme of Shivraj.

Shivraj Singh is giving cylinders to his dear sisters for Rs 1250 and 450 every month. PM Modi also did not mention the scheme which is called a game changer in MP. The message from this is clear that the elections in MP will be fought not on CM Shivraj but on the face and work of PM Modi. If PM Modi is ignoring Shivraj Singh Chouhan by going to Madhya Pradesh, it has political implications. If sources are to be believed, it is clear that BJP does not have confidence that it can return to power on the basis of Shivraj's work and name.

Tickets for leaders equivalent to Shivraj

By looking at the list of BJP candidates, it can be clearly understood how the party has drawn the outline to win the electoral battle. The most important and special thing about BJP is that all the veterans it has fielded are equivalent to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Not only this, many of those leaders have already expressed their ambition for the post of CM. The way BJP has given assembly tickets to the Union Minister and MP, one thing is clear that the options regarding the Chief Minister's face have been kept open. This is the reason why questions are being raised about the role of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan because all the veterans fielded by BJP will claim to be contenders for the post of Chief Minister in their respective areas.

Priority has been given to PM Modi's trusted candidates instead of those close to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Every politician will try with all his might to win the elections by projecting himself as the chief ministerial candidate in his own area and all of them also have their own cast chemistry. Narendra Tomar and Uday Pratap Singh come from Thakur caste, while Reeti Pathak comes from Brahmin community. Union Minister Prahlad Patel, MPs Ganesh Singh and Rakesh Singh come from the OBC community, while Union Minister Faggan Singh comes from the Kulaste tribal community. In this way, BJP has laid the political chessboard in Madhya Pradesh to attract votes from OBC to tribal and Rajput.

Bet to field Kailash Vijayvargiya

In the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, BJP has again fielded Kailash Vijayvargiya after ten years. Vijayvargiya has been a six-time MLA. Kailash Vijayvargiya has been a minister in the cabinets of Babulal Gaur, Uma Bharti and Shivraj Singh Chauhan. His relationship with Shivraj lasted thirty-six years. In such a situation, the political motive behind fielding Vijayvargiya and Narendra Tomar can be understood. Not only this, the way BJP has fielded Rakesh Singh and Prahlad Patel from the OBC community in the assembly elections, it can also be understood that BJP wants to establish a new OBC politics in the state.

Can step away from the code of conduct

Even before the implementation of the election code of conduct in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held an important meeting with all the ministers, principal secretaries of departments and officials in the ministry. During this, he expressed his gratitude to the team for working diligently even in a crisis like Corona. Thanked and congratulated the ministers and officials for their hard work and readiness on their achievements in the last four and a half years. Expressed special gratitude to the ministers, CS and all the PS. In such a situation, questions arise whether thanking the officials before the implementation of the code of conduct is a sign of Shivraj Chauhan's withdrawal from the election field?