Form of words:
New Delhi: Criticizing civil servants, warning police officers, asking people to name corrupt officials at a public rally and then proceeding to suspend them here and there – these hardly seem like things that a soft-spoken and Known as a moderate Chief Minister. But that is new Shivraj Singh Chouhan Madhya Pradesh is seeing nowadays.
Chouhan, the only BJP chief minister from the Vajpayee-Advani era who is still in power, is still popular and able to deliver seats. But recent changes by the party’s central leadership, from Uttarakhand to Karnataka and now Gujarat, have prompted Chouhan to change his style of functioning and adopt a new type of optics to beat the anti-incumbency wave.
His latest test is a series of by-elections to three assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency – the dates for which have yet to be announced. But it seems that in anticipation of these and other future challenges, Chauhan is out to change his image. iftar– Moderate to tough, in the presence of a more fanatical leader. He has started Jan Darshan Yatra from September 12 to get feedback on development works mainly in the constituencies where by-elections are to be held.
Party insiders say there are several reasons for Chouhan’s transformation, from the nature of leadership at the top of the party to his own insecurities, as there are several factions within the MP BJP led by strong leaders such as Kailash Vijayvargiya and Narottam Mishra.
Read also: Why is Shivraj Singh Chouhan under pressure in MP but unlikely to step down from CM post?
‘came out with a stick‘
on Thursday, while participate in In a program called ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ in Bhopal, he accused government officials of presenting a false picture of development. “If you sit inside the ministry, you only get a color picture. There is happiness all around. When you really hit the ground, you realize how far happiness has reached,” he said.
Turning to Principal Secretary (Industries) Sanjay Shukla, Chouhan said he was not referring to him, but added, “things are done only where the CM concentrates”.
In a review meeting with district collectors and commissioners three days before that, CM said Any officer who has taken money under PM Awas Yojana,”will not leave the main use (I will not spare him)”. He vowed to make random visits to check corruption and see to achieve development goals. ‘If there is a complaint, I will suspend him,’ he said.
He too warning Taunted Damoh Superintendent of Police DR Teniwar, and Neemuch SP Suraj Kumar Verma for “doing nothing about gangsters and mafia” for the district’s low ranking in policing.
But the most shocking incident happened a week ago in Niwari, when the CM asked the public listening to his speech to name the officials involved in corruption in PM Awas Yojana.
“I have been told that there are irregularities in PM Awas Yojana. There was a CMO (Chief Municipal Officer)… there are complaints against him. They are suspended with immediate effect.” told Daisy.
On the same day, at another meeting in Prithvipur, where a by-election is to be held, he suspended a Tehsildar. He also announced a probe by the Economic Offenses Wing of the police.
In Tikamgarh also he suspended an officer for corruption, saying, “Now I have come out with a stick. I will not spare the traitors (Now I have come with a stick, I will not spare anyone who indulges in unrighteousness).
Also, in Raigaon, another by-election constituency, he pulled up an official for not providing water under the state’s tap water scheme.
Why is CM changing his image?
The upcoming by-elections in Raigaon, Prithvipur, Jobat and Khandwa parliamentary constituencies will be Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s second litmus test since he became chief minister for the fourth time after the fall of Kamal Nath’s Congress government. in March 2020.
In Chouhan’s first Test in November 2020, the BJP won 19 out of 28 seats, thanks to the help of former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the party with his supporters, necessitating a by-election.
This time around, Chouhan is leaving no stone unturned by projecting himself as a strong, baseless leader. Bhopal-based writer and political commentator Girija Shankar said this was not unusual.
“This is Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s way of doing politics, of rapprochement with the people. This is its USP; He used to do this optics earlier also. NS’will not leaveThe comment is meant to tighten the bureaucracy, who sometimes take advantage of Shivraj’s modesty. It is part of his clever politics to give this message to the people that ‘Look, these corrupt officials are stopping development, and I am not a part of this circle’. This is the best way to beat the anti-incumbency wave.”
Shankar, however, said the cases of Chouhan and UP CM Yogi Adityanath are different from those of BJP CMs like Trivendra Singh Rawat, Tirath Singh Rawat (both in Uttarakhand) and Vijay Rupani, who have been replaced recently.
“Both Shivraj and Yogi are mass leaders, unlike these others who were ‘appointed’ CMs. BJP also needs Lok Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh in 2024.
He is not the only analyst to do the Chauhan-Yogi comparison. Professor Sanjay Kumar of Center for the Study of Developing Societies told that the other aspect of new style of CM of MP is aggressive campaign against encroachment, mafia, drug operation and sending a message to BJP’s core vote base of Hindu nationalists. . After Yogi’s UP government brought an anti-conversion ordinance, MP did too.
Kumar said it is not the mandate given to Chouhan, but the nature of leadership in Delhi, which takes quick decisions and prefers aggressive leaders, has created insecurity on his part. Expert cites viral video of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari speech in jaipurWhere he said that no CM knows how long he will stay on the chair.
“Therefore, in order to survive, the first thing a CM does is to please the main constituency of the party,” Kumar said, explaining that this is what Chouhan was doing.
“Secondly, he knows that as long as he keeps winning and works on the core agenda of the party, there is no danger. But as soon as he starts losing elections, he will be questioned and the Modi-Shah leadership will not spare him. That is why he is deploying all the resources to win the by-elections and to convert his ‘civilised’ image into ‘muscle’ CM’s image.
Meanwhile, former BJP state president Prabhat Jha said it was good to “send a message to officials” if they are not doing their job.
“The entire organization of BJP is working to win the by-polls, and the Chief Minister is making extra efforts to plug the loopholes at the grassroots level through his Jan Darshan Yatra.”
(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)
Read also: MP BJP wants to rein in its leaders for ‘irresponsible’ remarks, set to track with technology
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