Shivraj Singh Chouhan's apparent exhaustion from undertaking a 16-hour daily poll campaign dissipates as a group of young children run towards his convoy of bullet proof vehicles. As the crowd swells, the security arrangement is thrown into disarray. But this doesn't deter the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, who rolls down his vehicle's window pane and greets children, while his wife Sadhna looks on. Shivraj, 65, is campaigning in a part of the Dewas belt which falls under the Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency, his home turf, where he has returned to contest the Lok Sabha polls after 20 years. A five-time MP from Vidisha, Shivraj went on to become the longest-serving Madhya Pradesh CM involving four terms from 2005 until December 2023. The constituency near Bhopal has always been a BJP stronghold represented by even ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1991) and Sushma Swaraj (2009 and 2014). The Congress had managed to win it only twice (1980 and 1984) since 1967. On what this election means for him, Shivraj tells The Indian Express: "This is my family. I am not a politician. We fight and live together like a family. There is no neta, security, nothing. There are only nephews and nieces, brother and sisters. There is only love.” As the then CM, Shivraj had led the BJP to another resounding victory in the November 2023 Assembly elections. However, springing a surprise, the BJP leadership replaced him with low-profile Ujjain MLA Mohan Yadav as the CM. Afterwards, when asked whether he would switch to national politics, Shivraj said he would "rather die than ask something for himself”. Months after the change of guard, Shivraj’s political future hung in the balance until the BJP decided to field him in the Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha. During a poll rally in Harda on April 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Chouhan, saying “I want to take him (to Delhi to work together) once again." When asked if he would shift to Delhi now, Chouhan tells The Indian Express, "I never said I won't go to Delhi. I am ready to do whatever work the party asks me to do." On whether he missed being the CM, he says, "I don't miss anything about being a Chief Minister. I am enjoying my new role." Earlier in the day, at his house in Bhopal, Shivraj met a group of villagers who had come to apprise him of their grievances, and some former Congress leaders wishing to join the BJP. One of the Congress turncoats apologised to Shivraj for not joining the BJP earlier. He hugged the Congressman, saying "So what if you are late, at least you came." Since the Congress’s debacle in the Assembly polls, the party has seen an exodus of its leaders and workers to the BJP. More than 2,000 Congress activists from Vidisha have also switched to the BJP fold. When asked about such a large-scale induction despite the BJP expressing confidence about a victory in the polls, Shivraj says, "This is an andolan (movement) of nation building. It’s not that only this number of people should stay in the BJP. If someone wants to serve the country and wants to join the BJP, then every citizen of this country should join the BJP." He then heads to Niwardi village in Dewas where he paid floral tributes to the statue of tribal queen Rani Durgavati. From there, after every few kilometres on his campaign trail, there are groups of children greeting Shivraj donning the masks of Modi or him. At every gathering, he is also greeted by several women, who shower petals on him and perform aarti. He is popularly known as “Mama (maternal uncle)” in the state. Known for having launched during his tenure various welfare schemes, such as the Ladli Behna Yojana, a Rs 1250 monthly stipend for women from poor households, Shivraj now claims to make them “lakhpati behnas (rich sisters)”. "I will make you lakhpati behnas. We won't stay poor. My sisters are my devis. I have come here to serve you," he tells a crowd at Machwas village. He tells The Indian Express that the biggest decisions he took as the CM was the women welfare schemes. "There are many hard decisions in my tenure as a CM. The women schemes were tough decisions to take," he says. With the temperature rising and a water crisis looming, most of the women who meet Shivraj flag their grievances about water scarcity. As he tells a gathering about his Delhi plans, some people shout, "Paani ki kami hai (There is a water shortage)”. Shivraj replies, "Isiliye toh Dilli keh raha hun (That's why I am going to Delhi).” As the BJP corners the Congress over the inheritance tax row, he accuses the Congress of playing a “dangerous game”. "This is not India's culture. A poor man, woman or elderly citizen makes sacrifices and saves for their children. We are not America… The inheritance accumulated by hard work, people give it to their children,” he says. When asked whether he was concerned about the low voter turnout, he says, "The Congress is moving towards extinction. Do you see any sign of the Congress in this whole route? While one party is fighting with its whole might, the other party is not seen." On the takeaways from his four-term CM tenure, Shivraj says, "The big takeaway is serving the people is like worshipping god. If you truly serve the people then you become part of the family. This has been my experience. Give love, share love. This world is filled with love. Love is god." The Vidisha constituency is going to polls in the third phase on May 7. Shivraj is pitted against Congress candidate and ex-MP Pratap Bhanu Sharma. In the 2019 polls, BJP leader Ramakant Bhargava trounced the Congress’s Shailendra Patel by over 5 lakh votes in the constituency.
