Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah on Sunday sidestepped the question of Shivraj Singh Chouhan continuing as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in the event of the party winning in the Assembly polls due later this year.
Responding to back-to-back queries on the clarity of future leadership in the State, Mr. Shah said that Mr. Chouhan was the CM and the party will collectively decide on the issue. He was speaking to journalists in the capital Bhopal after releasing the Madhya Pradesh government’s ‘report card’ between 2003 and 2023, a period during which, he asserted, the State had successfully rid itself of the BIMARU (laggard) category tag.
“Shivraj Ji remains the chief Minister now and the party is in election [mode]. Party will do its job. My request to you all [journalists] is take whatever has happened under the leadership of [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi Ji and Shivraj Ji to the people so that the development agenda is set for the election,” he said, speaking of the forthcoming elections and Mr. Chouhan, who has been at the helm for more than a decade and a half.
In response to other questions on emotive issues surfacing in the elections, he reiterated that the party’s focus was on development and brushed aside former Chief Minister and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s allegation that the MP government was planning violence like Haryana’s Nuh before MP assembly elections to polarise voters.
On the governance record of the party in two decades, Mr. Shah said the government has delivered on development and the BIMARU tag was a legacy of the Congress regime. He said the people of the State took a historic decision in 2003 by removing the government of “Mr. Bantadhar”, apparently referring to senior Mr. Singh.
‘Golder period’
“From 1950 to 2003, the Congress ruled the State of Madhya Pradesh, barring a period of 6-7 years. The Congress leaders who have claimed credit for the development of Madhya Pradesh today should place account of the development they ensured in the State during that period,” he said.
On the contrary, he added, the 20 years of the BJP government had proven to be a golden period of liberation from poverty.
“Per capita income in Madhya Pradesh has risen from ₹11,700 to ₹1.40 lakh, showcasing the record-breaking development achieved by the partnership of Modi Ji and Shivraj Ji. Within a decade, Prime Minister Modi pulled millions of people out of poverty lines, which is why the people consider him a harbinger of the welfare of the poor,” he added.
Mr. Shah said Madhya Pradesh was at the top in the country with a contribution of 45% in wheat exports, it has distributed more than 3.62 crore Ayushman cards (of government health scheme) to remain in the first position (in that field) in the country, and the quality of rural roads developed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in MP was the best in the country.
“Madhya Pradesh has approved cases worth ₹4,300 crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Scheme to attain first position in the country, the State is at the second place in constructing houses in rural areas under the PM Awas Yojna (PMAY), and its Indore city has maintained first position since the last six years in the Swachhta (cleanliness) scheme,” he said.
He expressed confidence about the Assembly polls and hope that the party would make a clean sweep in the 29 Lok Sabha seats in MP in the general elections due next year. Referring to the party winning all but one seat [Chhindwara represented by former CM Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath], he said that he firmly believed that “the people of the State will give this remaining one seat also to the BJP”.
