Madhya Pradesh elections: ‘Main Shivraj Hoon’: The Mamaji who never gave up

To do that, Chouhan actively embraced the limelight in a way that few in the Narendra Modi-centric party have dared before. The once self-effacing leader, whose humble image was seen as his USP, this time even was the star of his government’s ‘The Ladli Show’, where he took questions from an awed and enthusiastic young girl – who covered everything from Chouhan the child of a poor family who led an agitation as a seven-year-old; to Chouhan the “gold-medallist” MA student; to Chouhan the CM, loved by the women of the state as their “mama (uncle)” and who cares for them equally; and even Chouhan the singer.

The show’s premiere on the CM’s YouTube channel coincided with the passage of the long-awaited women’s reservation Bill in Parliament.

Chouhan’s campaign, in fact, almost entirely gambled on his schemes for women, including his poll-time announcement of a 35% quota for many state government jobs.

At times, the CM has shed tears while seeking voters; at other times, he told voters they would miss him when “I am no longer around”.

At an event in Burhanpur, Chouhan washed the feet of two women, who in turn showered him with petals, as he released the Rs 597-crore instalment of the Ladli Behna Yojana meant for women.

At The Ladli Show, a constant refrain was Chouhan’s love for his late mother. He also portrayed himself as a “family man” – distinct from some other top leaders in the party – and talked about taking an year-end vacation with his wife and sons, though only to shrines.

The CM firmly believed that women would deliver the state to him – they add up to 2.67 crore, over 48 per cent of the total 5.52 crore voters in the state. This is crucial considering the fact that women outnumber their male counterparts in at least 18 of the 230 Assembly seats

Chouhan’s me-and-mine campaign was stark given that in his rallies during the Madhya Pradesh campaign, the BJP refrained from mentioning local leaders and sought votes in the name of the party.

On September 26, at a rally in Bhopal, as Chouhan sat silently by his side after a short speech, Modi gave a long address without mentioning the CM even once.

The impression was that the BJP was apprehensive about naming Chouhan as its CM face in a state where it has been in power since 2003 – with Chouhan leading it since 2005 – barring the short Congress government from 2018 to 2020. Sources talked of a “fatigue factor” for Chouhan; which Sunday’s win may quash as baseless.

The incumbent CM did not even steer the party’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra, which was led by central party leaders.

This further gained ground when, on September 26, the same day as the PM’s Bhopal rally, the BJP released its second list of candidates for the state, which included three Union ministers and one national general secretary from the Centre. All were seen as potential CMs. Sources close to Chouhan admitted he was taken by surprise, with one aide saying “it was difficult to understand the list”.

The Congress attacked the BJP claiming that it was ashamed of its own CM.

Like most stories in the BJP, Chouhan’s too started with the RSS. Born in March 1959 into a farmer’s family in Sehore district, he joined the ABVP while in college and was elected from the Vidisha constituency in 1991, a seat he would go on to win three more times.

A fifth term in power would also be a remarkable achievement for Chouhan given that he has never been too comfortable under the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah dispensation, with it being difficult perhaps for both sides to forget that in 2014, Chouhan was among the BJP CMs spoken of as PM faces of the party.

But in a party where power flows only one way, whether he will return as CM may not yet be a settled issue. Asked about this, state president V D Sharma said: “The central leadership will decide.”