BJP picks Ujjain South MLA Mohan Yadav as new Madhya Pradesh CM

BHOPAL: Mohan Yadav, who was a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh government headed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) pick as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the state will have two Deputy Chief Ministers, namely Jagdish Devda and Rajesh Shukla. Union Minister Narendra Tomar will be Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker.

#WATCH | BJP leaders including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, congratulate party leader Mohan Yadav after he was named as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/xzC6aXceBZ

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2023

Yadav became MLA for the first time in 2013 from Ujjain Dakshin’s seat. In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, he was once again elected and became MLA from the Ujjain Dakshin seat. On July 2, 2020, he took the oath as cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh Government headed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Earlier in the day, BJP central observers Manohar Lal Khattar, Dr K Laxman and Asha Lakra of Madhya Pradesh participated in a legislative party meeting. The BJP on Thursday had announced the three central observers, which include Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, K Laxman, National President, OBC Morcha and Aasha Lakda, National Secretary for the state.

#WATCH | Ujjain, MP: After Mohan Yadav was elected as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, his wife says "Bhagwan Mahakal ka ashirwad hai, party ka ashirwad hai. He has been working with the BJP since 1984. Whenever he used to come to Ujjain, he went to offer prayers to… pic.twitter.com/dcobNL0Zdr

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2023

During the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress returned to power with veteran leader Kamal Nath taking the oath as Chief Minister, but a political upheaval rocked the state in 2020 after then-Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 loyalist MLAs, switched over to the BJP camp.

The Congress government fell after being reduced to a minority and the BJP formed the government with Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as chief minister.

#WATCH | Bhopal: After BJP leader Mohan Yadav named as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, his son says, "I am very happy…" pic.twitter.com/2lau07GSUd

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2023

But, this time again, when the BJP emerged victorious with a thumping majority, the party has appointed central observers, so there were speculations in political circles that the party may bring a new CM face in the state. Madhya Pradesh went to polls for 230 Assembly seats in a single phase on November 17 and the counting of votes was done on December 3.

The BJP, which had been battling close to 20 years of incumbency in the state, won a resounding mandate, bagging 163 seats, while the Congress finished a distant second at 66 seats. (ANI)