Shivraj Singh’s confidence of winning 27 seats in Madhya Pradesh is not misplaced

To quote Paulo Coelho, “You are not defeated when you lose. You are defeated when you quit.” This evergreen line is apt for the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who does not seem to give up after his defeat in the recently concluded Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.

Recently, Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserted, “Don’t think mama has become weak. I promise you that we will win at least 27 seats, as we did in 2014, out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats, in the coming elections.” He was speaking at ‘Yuva Vijay Sankalp Maharally’ of Delhi BJP’s Yuva Morcha. Shivraj Singh Chohan also said that the Congress might have formed government in Madhya Pradesh but it could fall “anytime as it lacks majority.”

The former Madhya Pradesh CM has appeared more gracious in defeat than what Kamal Nath has been able to show even being victorious. After the results of MP state assembly elections were announced, he gracefully accepted the defeat and avoided playing dirty politics. Neither did he blame the EVMs nor tried to form a government by hook or crook.  After the results, he has set himself on a tour across the state to boost the morale of the BJP workers ahead of crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Chouhan has increased his public appearance and now he frequently interacts with common people of the state. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has updated his Twitter bio, which now reads, “The Common Man of Madhya Pradesh.”

In the last couple of days, he has been seen travelling in trains and using other public transports, celebrating a birthday on road with supporters and riding as a pillion rider to reach his destination. 

According to the Economic Times report, Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a village in his constituency said, “Mama bahut yaad ayega… par afsos mat karna kyunki Tiger abhi zinda hai.” (You will miss Mama a lot, but don’t regret as Tiger is still alive). 

Shivraj Singh Chouhan knows very well that the recent defeat in the state assembly elections is in no way a rejection of his persona. The thin margin of defeat after 13 years of anti-incumbency is a testimony to the fact that Shivraj Singh still enjoys enormous popularity in the state. If the data is observed more closely, out of total 3.77 crore votes that were polled in the elections, the BJP was able to bag 41%, while 40.9% of the total votes went in the favour of the Congress party. In fact, BJP got 47,824 more votes than the Congress party still the former could not get the mandate. 

For more details: 4,337 votes cost BJP the state of Madhya Pradesh

It is of no surprise that the former Madhya Pradesh CM is more popular in the state than the incumbent CM. While Kamal Nath has been on the backfoot from the very first day of assuming the office owing to a number of controversies which he generated because of his ‘remarks’ and controversial decisions on the administrative front. Under Kamal Nath, law and order of Madhya Pradesh has only deteriorated as three BJP leaders have been killed in the state just within a week. Latest one to get murdered is Chhatrapal Singh Rawat, whose dead body was found in Gawalior on Monday while another office bearer Magan Siddiqui, suffered serious injuries after he was attacked in Jabalpur on Sunday. Also, on Sunday morning, the dead body of the BJP Balewadi mandal president, Manoj Thakre (48), was found on the outskirts of Balwadi town under the Warla police station area. Additionally, another BJP leader, his son and two of his relatives were attacked by goons on Monday in Barwani. Earlier, a BJP leader was shot in Mandsaur.

The Congress came to power in the state by raising the issue of farm distress in a big way, but after assuming power, it appears to have done nothing substantial to improve the condition of farmers in Madhya Pradesh. In fact, the condition of farmers has only exacerbated since the Congress government took over. Basically, the Congress exploited emotions and sentiments of farmers in order to grab the power in the state. The state government instead of providing solutions to farm distress is busy finding excuses. Recently, Kamal Nath blamed the central government for the urea crisis in MP.

In December, in the mid of the Rabi season, the state encountered a shortage of urea in several districts. Farmers in Guna and Raisen districts of Madhya Pradesh had reportedly staged protests and blocked roads after cooperative societies ran out of urea. The police also carried out lathi charge on protesting farmers during Urea distribution in Guna district.

Not just the urea shortage, the farmers of MP are also facing energy (electricity) crisis since the Congress has come to power in the state.

For more details: After Urea shortage, power crisis looms large over Madhya Pradesh

There were also media reports which suggested that instead of trying to find a sustainable solution to the urea crisis, the state government ‘sanctioned Mandis’ have been selling substandard urea to farmers. The farmers protested against the state administration in Morena district regarding the poor quality of urea. 

According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, farmers said that the state has received new rakes of urea. But 1100 sacks of Urea are kept closed in the warehouses. The farmers further alleged that the state government is distributing old urea which is not good for the crops. Farmers told that urea distributed by the state government is of no use as it does not dissolve in the soil. In order to prove this, a farmer took out urea from the stack and put the granules in the glass filled with water. But even after 30 minutes, urea showed no sign of change. It remained in its original form and did not dissolve in water.  

Moreover, the farmers can’t afford to buy expensive urea from the market. It is estimated that crop production would reduce by 60% due to the urea shortage.  

For more details: Farmers in Madhya Pradesh face acute Urea shortage

The Congress party which stormed to power riding on the promise of farm loan waiver seems to have only cheated the farmers. According to Jagran report, many farmers in Madhya Pradesh have complained that instead of the entire loan waiver, they are getting waivers of just Rs. 25 and Rs. 300.

Last week, the state government issued a list of farmers whose debt had been waived off under ‘Jai Kishan’ loan waiver scheme. After the list was out, Prakash, a farmer from Jaitpur, claimed that he got a waiver of Rs. 25 only against a total sum of 2.5 lakh. In a similar manner, another farmer of Sikandarpura, Amit said that he got a waiver of Rs. 300 against a sum of 30 thousand rupees. 

For more details: Another joke with farmers in MP as they get waivers of Rs. 25 and Rs. 300

There are news reports suggesting that under Kamal Nath government, the financially crumbled Madhya Pradesh is likely to put major infrastructural projects on hold. Shivraj Singh retweeted Zee Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh’s Tweet which claimed that the present chief minister Kamal Nath has put the Bhopal and Indore metro projects on hold. The reasoning behind this move is said to be the high cost involved in the metro projects. As per the tweet, a presentation on Mono Rail has been prepared as it would entail a lower cost. Former Madhya Pradesh CM, Shivraj Singh highlighted how the Congress government is derailing the state from a fast-tracked development path on which the state moved ahead under Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The Free Press Journal claimed that according to sources, the state government has decided to shut Metro projects in the cities of Bhopal and Indore. 

For more details: Financially crumbled Madhya Pradesh likely to put major infrastructural projects on hold

Recently, Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Madhya Pradesh assembly, Gopal Bhargava, alleged that the ruling party is not administering funds to various successful schemes which were started successfully under Shivraj Singh’s government. These include pivotal schemes such as Kanyadan Yojna, Ladli Yojna and Teerth Darshan. If these allegations are true then it would be a further extension of Kamal Nath’s vendetta politics.

For more details: Kamal Nath government stops funding of Shivraj era schemes in MP

So far the incumbent CM has only gain negative media coverage with his controversial decisions and equally controversial and absurd remarks. People are already fed up of his rule. On one hand, Kamal Nath has lost his popularity; on the other hand, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has garnered lots of positive media coverage. Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a firm stand on Kamal Nath’s divisive rhetoric against the people of UP and Bihar. Chouhan’s stance was hailed as true statesmanship.

Chouhan in his statement also added that he will fight in order to ensure that his schemes are not shut down by the new government or crop prices fixed by him are paid in full. The Economic Times has quoted him saying, “Ab ladai ka toh mein champion hun (I’m a champion of fighting for your cause).” 

Shivraj Singh is leaving no stone unturned in order to gain the faith of the people of Madhya Pradesh ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and so far he has achieved incredible success in his pursuit. The way things are moving in Madhya Pradesh, Mama Ji’s confidence of winning at least 27 seats out of 29 Lok Sabha seats of the state is not misplaced. Not to forget that despite the defeat, the BJP’s vote share was more than that of Congress’, and people still remember Shivraj’s good governance in the state for 13 long years. Moreover, people already seem to be fed up of Congress’ short-rule in the state and seek to show anger against the Congress, once they go out to cast their vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.