In Congress's Mohan Yadav reaction, election win credit to Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Mohan Yadav, a minister in the Chouhan government, met the governor today and staked a claim to form a government.
Bhopal: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, in a remark laced with a hint of sarcasm, reacted to the BJP's surprise move to name Mohan Yadav the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, saying former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan deserved the credit for the party's recent victory in the Hindi heartland state.
"They can make anyone the CM but if we look back, I think BJP could register its victory in Madhya Pradesh only under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan," the Congress MP said.
He said the BJP's Madhya Pradesh victory can be attributed to Chouhan.
"BJP wants to give credit to PM Modi but I would like to say that had Shivraj Singh Chouhan not been there, it would have been difficult for BJP to win in Madhya Pradesh. I personally think that more than PM Modi's, it is Shivraj Singh Chouhan's victory," he added.
Yadav, a minister in the Chouhan government, met the governor today and staked a claim to form a government.
Before that, four-term chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigned from his post.
Outgoing CM Chouhan, who was present in the event where Yadav's name was announced, congratulated the politician.
"Heartiest congratulations. Madhya Pradesh now has its new chief minister, heartiest congratulations," said Chouhan.
Yadav, an MLA from Ujjain South, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for the opportunity.
"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," he added.
With the appointment of Yadav, the BJP aims to woo the sizeable OBC population in view of the upcoming general elections.
An OBC leader and three-time BJP MLA, Yadav began his career as a student leader and rose through ranks to become the higher education minister of Madhya Pradesh.
The 58-year-old politician is considered to be close to the BJP's ideological mentor RSS.
He first became a minister in 2020 when the BJP came back to power following the collapse of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan became the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for the first time in 2005. He then steered the BJP to win in 2008 and 2013. He became the chief minister for the fourth time in 2020 after the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government collapsed.
With inputs from PTI, ANI