BJP’s list for M.P. polls signals Shivraj may not be automatic choice for CM

BJP's second list of MP candidates signals CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan may not be automatic choice for top job. List includes 7 Lok Sabha MPs, 3 Union Ministers and national general secretary. Congress claims BJP is scared of them and central leadership aware of State's "disaster".

The second list of candidates furnished by the BJP for the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh has thrown open the idea that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will not be the automatic choice for the top job in the State, in case the party wins.

On Tuesday, Mr. Chouhan put on brave front when asked about the list that has seven Lok Sabha MPs, including three Union Ministers, stating that “this [the second list] has ensured our victory, all our senior leaders will contest”, but the fact that his own candidature from Budhni was not announced, and a recent example of change of chief ministers in Assam is not lost on anyone.

In Assam, the incumbent, current Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had not been projected as an automatic contender for the top job in the State, and had to give to current Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

In the second list of candidates released by the BJP on Monday evening, Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste have been fielded along with Lok Sabha MPs Rakesh Singh, Ganesh Singh, Riti Pathak and Uday Pratap Singh. Apart from the seven Lok Sabha MPs, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has been fielded from Indore -1, a signal that even those who were considered not so close to Mr. Chouhan have been asked to back up any claims to leadership positions with an electoral victory in what is looking like a tight election.

A senior BJP leader connected to party affairs in Madhya Pradesh has admitted that the fielding of so many Lok Sabha MPs, important faces of the party, by the BJP was not just a signal that the party was trying to put its best foot forward, but also emphasising the idea of “collective leadership”.

The talk of “collective leadership”, with so many Lok Sabha MPs and the failure to announce Mr. Chouhan’s seat as yet, is not good news for the Chief Minister.

The Congress was quick to grasp the narrative implications of this second list of candidates released by the BJP. In a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), All India Congress Committee in-charge for Madhya Pradesh Randeep Surjewala said by fielding seven MPs, including three Union Ministers and national general secretary besides the Chief Minister, the BJP has shown how scared it is of the Congress. “It is clear how the fear of Congress haunts the BJP,” Mr. Surjewala said. He alleged that the central leadership of the BJP was aware that the party’s State leadership had brought Madhya Pradesh to “the brink of disaster”.