Mohan Yadav was sworn-in as the 19th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh along with his two deputies — Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla in Bhopal on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony that took place in State capital’s Lal Parade Ground.
M.P. Governor Mangubhai Patel administered the oath of office and secrecy on Mr. Yadav, Mr. Devda and Mr. Shukla. However, no other Minister was sworn-in today and the CM is expected to expand his Cabinet following consultations with the central leadership.
Chief Ministers of various BJP-ruled States, including Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Bhupendra Patel of Gujarat and Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra CM and leader of Balasahebanchi Shivsena party Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis from the BJP and Ajit Pawar from the NCP were also present. Among the Union Ministers present at the event were Nitin Gadkari, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Faggan Singh Kulaste.
Mr. Yadav, a three-term MLA from Ujjain-Dakshin (South) and a prominent OBC leader in the State, was chosen as the BJP legislature party leader on Monday at the meeting of party’s MLAs.
His name had come as a surprise for many as he was picked by the BJP’s central leadership surpassing various other senior leaders, including Mr. Chouhan, Mr. Scindia, former Union Ministers and now MLAs Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel.
Mr. Tomar will be the next Assembly Speaker.
The BJP picked its fourth CM in a row in Madhya Pradesh from the OBC community given the group’s prominence in the State ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Being about 52% of the State’s population, the community influence about 77 Assembly seats.
The last three CMs of the State from the BJP were Uma Bharti in 2003, Babulal Gaur in 2004, and Mr. Chouhan in 2005. Mr. Chouhan, a four-term CM, helmed the State Government till 2023, except the 15-month period from December 2018 to March 2020 from Kamal Nath-led Congress government was in the power.
Speaking to reporters before the event, Mr. Chouhan congratulated Mr. Yadav.
Sharing a Hindi verse about farewell, Mr. Chouhan said, “Aur mitron, ab vida; jas ki tas raki dini chadariya (Friends, farewell now, sheet is put as it is).”
