BJP names Mohan Yadav as new Madhya Pradesh chief minister; Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigns

In a surprising turn of events, the BJP has named Mohan Yadav as the new Madhya Pradesh chief minister sidelining all those whose names were making rounds as the party's CM-probables especially four-time MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan,. Yadav, 58, Minister for Higher Education in the outgoing government, had won from Ujjain Dakshin seat in the recently concluded polls.

Bhopal: In a major political move by the BJP, Ujjain south MLA Mohan Yadav was named as the new Madhya Pradesh chief minister by the saffron party on Monday. The party took more than a week to announce the name after it won the elections in the state on December 3.

In the 2023 Assembly Elections, Yadav polled 95699 votes from Ujjain Dakshin seat beating Congress' Chetan Premnarayan Yadav by over 12,000 votes. He first became an MLA in 2013 and served as the Higher Education minister in the outgoing government.

Yadav (58), an OBC leader, was elected as the BJP's legislature party leader in Madhya Pradesh at a meeting in Bhopal held in the evening in the presence of central observers, officials said. The saffron party has also named two deputy chief ministers Jagdish Deora and Rajesh Shukla, while naming former Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as the Assembly Speaker.

"I am a small worker of the party...I thank PM Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, VD Sharma for giving me such a big responsibility. It is only the BJP party which can give such a big responsibility to a small worker like me. I will take forward the development journey of the state," Yadav said shortly after he was named as the new Chief Minister.

Yadav's selection comes as a surprise as he was preferred over several veterans and key leaders of the party from the state including four-time MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Prahlad Patel, Narendra Tomar, Kailash Vijayvargiya, VD Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Chouhan had been elected to the top post four times – 2005, 2008, 2013 and 2020. While he was a top choice, his cryptic tweet “Sabhi ko Ram Ram" from his official handle on December 9 was a precursor to what was about to happen.

• सभी को राम-राम... pic.twitter.com/QpaOxpZyMk

  — Office of Shivraj (@OfficeofSSC) December 9, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  सभी को राम-राम... pic.twitter.com/QpaOxpZyMk

  — Office of Shivraj (@OfficeofSSC) December 9, 2023

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  सभी को राम-राम... pic.twitter.com/QpaOxpZyMk

  — Office of Shivraj (@OfficeofSSC) December 9, 2023

Chouhan, meanwhile, congratulated Yadav and said he would take Madhya Pradesh to "new heights of progress and development". "Hearty congratulations to hardworking fellow Shri @DrMohanYadav51 ji on being nominated as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in the BJP Legislative Party meeting. I am confident ‍that under the able guidance of respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, you will take Madhya Pradesh to new heights of progress and development and will create new records in the field of public welfare. Many congratulations and best wishes for this new responsibility!" Chouhan tweeted.

• कर्मठ साथी श्री @DrMohanYadav51 जी को भाजपा विधायक दल की बैठक में मध्यप्रदेश का मुख्यमंत्री मनोनीत किये जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई।
  
  मुझे विश्‍वास है कि आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल मार्गदर्शन में आप मध्यप्रदेश को प्रगति एवं विकास की नई ऊँचाइयों पर ले जायेंगे तथा… pic.twitter.com/NkVo2PrV9x

  — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) December 11, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  कर्मठ साथी श्री @DrMohanYadav51 जी को भाजपा विधायक दल की बैठक में मध्यप्रदेश का मुख्यमंत्री मनोनीत किये जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई।
  
  मुझे विश्‍वास है कि आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल मार्गदर्शन में आप मध्यप्रदेश को प्रगति एवं विकास की नई ऊँचाइयों पर ले जायेंगे तथा… pic.twitter.com/NkVo2PrV9x

  — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) December 11, 2023

  ">

  कर्मठ साथी श्री @DrMohanYadav51 जी को भाजपा विधायक दल की बैठक में मध्यप्रदेश का मुख्यमंत्री मनोनीत किये जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई।
  
  मुझे विश्‍वास है कि आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल मार्गदर्शन में आप मध्यप्रदेश को प्रगति एवं विकास की नई ऊँचाइयों पर ले जायेंगे तथा… pic.twitter.com/NkVo2PrV9x

  — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) December 11, 2023

Shortly after, Chouhan submitted his resignation to Governor Mangubhai Patel. He reached Raj Bhavan immediately after the meeting of newly-elected MLAs concluded and tendered his resignation.

The BJP retained power in Madhya Pradesh following the November 17 polls, winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly, leaving the Congress a distant second with 66 seats.