NK'S POST

MADHYA PRADESH Master of all that he surveys How Shivraj emerged invincible, vanquishing all his rivals NK SINGH DB Post 5 March 2017 A distressed Babulal Gaur , former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, complained to state assembly this week that bureaucrats had stopped answering his calls. Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh rose in his support: “If officials do not respond to calls of a former chief minister, you can imagine how they treat common man.” Gaur was Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s predecessor. He is the senior most member of the house. The ten-time MLA, who was once seen as a threat to Chouhan, has been sulking ever since he was unceremoniously dropped from cabinet in June last year on grounds of old age.  Till a few months ago, he was considered the most powerful minister in cabinet and the lone voice of dissent. He apparently wanted to embarrass the government by publicly voicing his plight. But his whining only succeeded in high...

NK SINGH Sartaj Singh, recently of the BJP, is a five time member of Lok Sabha and a two time MLA. He once defeated Arjun Singh, one of the tallest Congress leaders of his time. The 78-year-old Sikh leader was a minister in union government and then a member of the Shivraj cabinet until three years ago when he was dropped on age ground.  Sartaj Singh is popular nurses his constituency well. One of the apocryphal stories about him is that on entering Itarsi, his home town, he sends his vehicle home with the driver and walks down the streets. It normally takes him 4 to 5 hours to reach home, situated just a km away. He would stop to chat to passer-bys, have a cup of tea at a stall, visit a friend's home, enter the odd shop to enquire about business, exchange pleasantries with people and sign on petitions of any citizen who cares to buttonhole him on the road.  He has never lost an election. Yet the BJP refused him ticket, making him weep publicly like a child, promptin...

NK SINGH Naya jamana aayega, Kamane wala khayega The working class slogan, a favourite Left rhetoric, was heard this week at a meeting organised by the BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh. And exhorting the people to raise the slogan was none other than Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He was addressing a meeting of beneficiaries of his government’s welfare scheme for the poor and downtrodden in Sehore district. The chief minister talked about his government’s efforts to alleviate poverty, pointing out that Indira Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao was just an empty slogan. At the end of his meeting, instead of the customary ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, he switched to the slogan first raised by Lenin a century ago, promising to usher in the New Age when only those who work get to eat. The slogan is a familiar war cry at rallies organised by communist and socialist parties. One rarely hears it at Congress meetings ever since socialists parted company. And it is almost never heard at ...

NK SINGH Even as a huge anti-incumbency stares him in the face, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan continues to be monarch of all he surveys within Madhya Pradesh BJP.  With most of his detractors vanquished or banished, he is still unassailable in the government he has been heading for 13 years now.  He also continues to have an upper hand in the ruling party, managing it through presidents content with playing second fiddle. Chouhan demonstrated his supremacy this week, again, as the BJP decided to change horses in midstream. With hardly 200 days left for 2018 assembly election, party’s state unit saddled a brand new president, a dark horse if ever there was one.  Brushing aside claims of his opponents, the high command appointed a Shivraj nominee to the post. Rakesh Singh, a three-term MP from Jabalpur, replaced Nandkumar Singh Chauhan, another Shivraj nominee, as Madhya Pradesh BJP chief. The changes show Chouhan’s political astuteness. ...

NK SINGH Babulal Gaur has emerged as a passionate saviour of his beloved Bhopal’s Upper Lake. The Urban Administration and Development Minister has declared in unambiguous terms that he was against any kind of construction on the periphery of the Lake. The draft Development Plan for Bhopal, released recently, has proposed constructions in several areas around the Lake. Under the plan green belt and no-construction zones have been replaced not only by low-density habitation but also full-fledged residential areas and commercial zones. Gaur is among the few ministers who feel the pulse of Bhopal. He has also threatened to roll on his famous bulldozer to remove all encroachments around the Lake. Apparently, he could sense the indignation of the citizens, whom he had invited earlier this week to discuss the status of the lakes in the city. It was not only the citizens who were alarmed about constructions around the lakes. Even the official presentation made by ...

NK SINGH ·         Sadhna Singh, wife of MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was recently elected president of All India Kirar Kshatriya Mahasabha, an organisation that represents the caste the Chouhans belong to. Shivraj Singh also attended the conference at Kota last month where his wife was elected president. “She agreed to become the president because the samaj leaders told us that it was necessary to avoid a split,” said Shivraj Singh. ·           Former chief minister and senior BJP leader Babulal Gaur gave his blessings to newly-elected Congress MLA from Kolaras, Mahendra Singh Yadav last week when the latter touched his feet before taking oath of office in MP assembly. “You are the honour of the community," said Gaur, adding, “may you win ten more times!” Both politicians, although in opposite political camps, are Yadavs. ·         K art...

Sons of CMs in MP politics नरेन्द्र कुमार सिंह मध्य प्रदेश में शिवराज सिंह चौहान के पहले १५ मुख्यमंत्री हो चुके हैं. इनमें एक भी ऐसा नहीं था जिसके पुत्र या निकट सम्बन्धी राजनीति में न गए हों. राज्य कांग्रेस का मौजदा नेतृत्व अभी ऐसे लोगों के हाथ में है जो अपने खानदान में दूसरी या तीसरी पीढ़ी के नेता हैं. प्रतिपक्ष के नेता अजय सिंह अपने खानदान में तीसरी पीढ़ी के नेता हैं. उनके पिता अर्जुन सिंह तीन दफा मध्य प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री रह चुके हैं और दादा शिव बहादुर सिंह तत्कालीन विन्ध्य प्रदेश में मिनिस्टर थे. प्रदेश कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष अरुण यादव के पिता सुभाष यादव डिप्टी चीफ मिनिस्टर थे. प्रदेश के अगले मुख्यमंत्री बनने की चाहत रखने वाले ज्योतिरादित्य सिंधिया का तो पूरा परिवार ही तीन पीढ़ियों से राजनीति में रमा है. दादी विजयाराजे सिंधिया से शुरू यह सियासी सफ़र इस राज परिवार को इतना भाया कि उनके एकलौते बेटे माधवराव सिंधिया के अलावा दो बेटियां, वसुंधरा राजे सिंधिया और यशोधरा राजे सिंधिया भी उसी राजमार्ग पर चल पड़ी.  वसुंधरा अभी राजस्थान की मुख्यमंत्री हैं और यशोधरा ...

What is the secret of Shivraj's success? NK SINGH मध्य प्रदेश का नाम लेते ही एक ऐसे राज्य की छवि सामने आती हैं जहां अफसर नोट की गड्डियों पर सोते हैं। भ्रष्टाचार चरम पर है। चपरासी करोड़पति हैं। कुपोषण के मामले में मध्यप्रदेष सहारा-पार अफ्रीकी मुल्कों से भी निचलें पायदान पर है। आदिवासी इलाकों में बच्चे कुपोषण से दम तोड़ रहे हैं। सरकारी राशन में आधी मिट्टी निकलती है। मध्य प्रदेश के व्यापम घोटाले का शुमार आजाद भारत के इतिहास में सबसे बड़े तथा घृणित घोटालों में होता हैं। उसमें राज्य के मिनिस्टर से लेकर आला अफसर तक शामिल थे। पर इस सबके बावजूद शिवराज सिंह चौहान लगातार ग्यारह वर्षों से मध्य प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री की कुर्सी पर काबिज हैं। पिछले साल उन्होंने मध्य प्रदेश पर सबसे लंबे समय तक राज करने वाले मुख्यमंत्री का तमगा हासिल कर लिया। भारतीय जनता पार्टी के हाई कमाण्ड ने नवम्बर 2005 में उन्हें पहली दफा राज्य का मुख्यमंत्री बनाया था। तब भाजपा को सत्ता में आए महज 21 महीने हुए थे। पर 21 महीनों में वह तीन दफा मुख्यमंत्री बदल चुकी थी।  जाहिर है , लोग सोचते थे कि चौहान भी ए...