Picture : Twitter / ANI
After spending just 15 months out of power, in dramatic turn in political fortunes, the BJP returned to power in Madhya Pradesh . BJP’s return meant that 61 – year-old Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as Chief Minister for the fourth time at ceremony at Raj Bhawan.
Before taking oath, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was unanimously elected as the leader of BJP legislative party in Madhya Pradesh, at the meeting held at the party office. MP Observer Arun Singh, and state in-charge Vinay Sahasrabuddhe joined in the meeting from Delhi via video conference.
In his first reaction to ANI , Chouhan said , As a BJP worker, I’ll work honestly for development of MP. But right now the aim is to stop spread of #COVID19. I’ve appealed to party workers to not celebrate the oath-taking ceremony¬ come out on streets. They should stay at home & pray for the newly formed govt.
The BJP returned to power after 22 rebel MLA’s of the Congress who quit the party and joined the BJP along with Jyotiraditya Scindia leading to the fall of the Kamal Nath Government.
It may be recalled that earlier, as the state BJP President, Chouhan was chosen to become the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 30 November 2005. He contested a by-election from Budhni assembly constituency the following year, winning his old seat by a margin of over 36,000 votes.
In 2008, Chouhan retained his Budhni seat by over 41,000 votes, and with it, led the BJP to a second consecutive victory in the state. On 12 December 2008, he was sworn in for his second term.
On 8 December 2013, Chouhan won Legislative Assembly elections in Budhni with 128,730 votes and Vidisha with 73,783 votes. He was also elected as Chief Minister of MP for a third term.
On 12 December 2018, after failing to gain a majority in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh assembly election, Chouhan resigned as Chief Minister.
