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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 Two news items this week did not get the attention that they deserved. After BJP’s defeat in Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly by-election, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited some villages in the two constituencies.  These villages were selected carefully: these were the communities that bucked the trend and voted overwhelmingly for BJP. It was a thanks giving tour by a grateful leader. Chouhan visited Dhodhiya and Gunheru villages in Ashoknagar district on March 4. The helmets were singled out for this privilege because BJP got 490 votes in Dhondhiya as against 90 polled by Congress. Similarly, in Gunheru village his party had secured maximum number of votes. The chief minister showered gifts on the villages – Dhondhiya, Gunheru, Semri and Banjara Chak – that preferred BJP over Congress, as a thanks-giving gesture. “If they have given without restrain,” he declared, “why should I maintain restrain!” The CM was flanked by the defeated BJP candidate...

NK SINGH The BJP in Madhya Pradesh is certainly not in a position to rejoice over the party’s victory in Tripura and Nagaland. Its spin doctors are propagating the myth that defeat in Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly by-elections does not matter because the constituencies they lost were traditional Congress strongholds. Facts do not support this narrative. The Congress had won Mungaoli only five times out of the 13 elections held there until now. Similarly, it captured Kolaras only 6 out of 13 times. As recently as 2008 assembly elections, both constituencies had favoured BJP. True, the two seats form part of Congress satrap Jyotiraditya Scindia’s parliamentary constituency. So suffering a defeat there would have been a big loss of face for him. It is also true that Congress barely managed to retain both seats, with a vastly reduced margin. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan patted himself on the back for putting up a good fight: “We lost there in 2013 election even whe...

NK SINGH A distressed Babulal Gaur, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh , complained to state assembly in December 2016 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 2016 on grounds of old age. Till then, he was considered the most powerful minister in cabinet and the lone voice of dissent.  H e apparently wanted to embarrass the government by publicly voicing his plight. But his whining only succeeded in highlighting the unassailable heights that his successor, Chouhan, has reached. Over the past 1 1 years, a pretty long period in politics, Chou...

NK SINGH The last day of March 2017 will always be remembered as apolitical milestone in the history of Madhya Pradesh. That was the day, Shivraj Singh Chouhan became the first BJP chief minister to challenge the politically powerful Scindia dynasty. Addressing an election rally in Bhind, part of the erstwhile Scindia empire, Chouhan shocked everyone, including senior BJP leaders, by launching a frontal attack on the royal family. In a politically loaded statement, Chouhan said that during the 1857 uprising Scindias “sided with British”. “Ater region had stood with Maharani Laxmibai and not with British. I know that Scindias sided with British and persecuted the people of this region,” he said, praising the people of the poll-bound area for their “ardent patriotism”. Soon minor BJP leaders jumped in the fray, describing the royal family’s history as a “matter of national shame”. Apparently, Chouhan’s unprovoked attack on the clan was a calculated risk. He was targeting Congre...

MP CM thinks roads in his State are better than US NK SINGH Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan believes that roads in Madhya Pradesh are better than US. His statement is not a case of political rhetoric. The man who has ruled MP for 12 years seems to sincerely believe that. After declaring in Washington DC that roads in MP are better than US, he saw people at the meeting smiling. He grinned, "I am not saying it just for the sake of it” and went on to explain how his government had constructed 1.75 lakh km of roads in the State. His Bhakts also believe that MP roads are superior to US. As the CM’s statement triggered an avalanche of jibes on Twitter, his party and Government rose in spirited defence. A spokesman of MP BJP released a series to photographs to prove that roads in MP are indeed better. The state Government too released photographs to counter the ridicule. It contrasted the State's swanky looking roads with potholed roads in New York and Los Angeles. C...