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The BJP’s second list of 39 names for Madhya Pradesh packed big surprises Monday, with the party fielding three Union ministers, four MPs and a national general secretary in a state where it is facing a tough competition from the Congress.
Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste will now contest the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, along with MPs Rakesh Singh (former state BJP president), Ganesh Singh, Reeti Pathak and Uday Pratap Singh, apart from general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
The top guns are seen as having blown the field wide open for chief minister choice should the BJP win, with Tomar, Patel and Vijayvargiya now strong contenders. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been CM for 20 years, but for a brief two-year period after the 2018 results when the Congress had finished ahead of the BJP narrowly. The party has been worried about fatigue setting in regarding Chouhan, who has incidentally not been named the CM face, even as Kamal Nath is leading an energetic Congress campaign, matching the BJP in tactics – Hindutva for Hindutva, and scheme for scheme.
Significantly, addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take Chouhan’s name even once.
Sources said the seven MPs whose names were announced on Monday were informed in advance about the party decision. However, not Chouhan. Sources close to the CM said he had been caught by surprise. “We had a feeling that Vijayvargiya may contest, but the fielding of Union ministers was a surprise. To be honest, we don’t know who will be the next CM now.”
This is the second list of names announced by the BJP for Madhya Pradesh. The first list, also of 39 names, was released on August 18. No big names featured in that list.
While Kulaste is a six-term Lok Sabha MP, Rakesh Singh and Ganesh Singh are four-term Members of Parliament, Tomar is into his third term, and Pathak into his second.
Tomar, Rakesh Singh and Uday Pratap Singh are Rajputs, Patel (Lodhi) and Ganesh Singh (Kurmi) are OBCs, Kulaste is a tribal leader and Pathak a Brahmin.
An MP from Morena, Tomar will be contesting from Dimani; Satna MP Ganesh Singh will be standing from the Satna Assembly seat; Kulaste, the Mandla MP, has been fielded from Niwas; Rakesh Singh (Jabalpur MP) from Jabalpur Paschim; Prahlad Patel (Damoh MP) from Narsingpur; Pathak (Sidhi) from Sidhi; and Uday Pratap Singh (Hoshangabad) from Gadarwara. Vijayvargiya will contest from Indore-1.
Pathak will replace Kedarnath Shukla, who was mired in controversy after a man accused of being his worker had urinated upon a tribal man, setting off a political row. Chouhan himself stepped in for damage control, washing the feet of the victim as penance.
Most of the 39 seats for which candidates were announced on Monday are seats which the BJP lost last time. Apart from the MPs and Vijayvargiya, seven former MLAs figure in the list. A BJP leader said their names had been decided upon following internal surveys.
Asked about being fielded for the Assembly elections, Ganesh Singh told The Indian Express: “We are party workers and the party decides our role and responsibilities. We will work accordingly.”
A senior BJP leader said the party had killed several birds with one stone. “Fielding of several experienced leaders in the electoral battlefield gives the impression of collective leadership. It also takes away the so-called fatigue factor (against Chouhan), as voters will see a number of faces at the front in the BJP.”
Another senior leader, involved in the state campaign, said: “The BJP has showcased that it has a range of big leaders representing various caste groups and areas. We have also shown that we are into long-term build up. We are serious about winning Madhya Pradesh.” He added that the campaign material will also highlight the battery of leaders.
A party source said the decision was also a tactic to settle internal fighting, especially among “aspirants” for the top post. “It is a strategy we used in Tripura, where both Manik Saha and Pratima Bhoumik were fielded, with their aides putting in their best hoping their leader would be picked as CM, thus helping the party overall.”
The BJP has been grappling with factionalism in the state, leading to the direct involvement of Home Minister Amit Shah in the party’s campaign. Vijayvargiya, who could have caused the BJP trouble, is now kept happy, while Prahlad Patel cancels out fellow Lodhi Uma Bharti’s OBC assertions.
Recently, Tomar, Patel, Kulaste and Vijayvargiya played an active role in organising the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra, which covered 230 Assembly constituencies and over 10,000 km across the state. With the central leadership completely taking over the reins of the yatra, Chouhan was seen as eclipsed.
State BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal told The Indian Express: “The list is a political strike against the Congress. We have brought in our heavyweights, and the Congress now has no answer. These are leaders who are very popular, their impact cutting across constituencies, which will give much-needed boost to the morale of BJP workers.”
The announcement of the first list by the BJP had brought brewing discontent to the surface, and while the central leadership believes the fielding of top names now might keep their supporters in check, others are not so sure.
Agrawal insisted there would be no ego fights. “Tomar and Vijayvargiya share a good rapport with Chouhan and have closely worked together.”
Another spinoff of Monday’s decision is that the BJP now has potentially seven MP seats in Madhya Pradesh to offer to new names come Lok Sabha elections. Sources said the party might go in for fresh faces for the same.
