The mood is upbeat in ruling BJP circles as chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan completes five years as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh on Monday.
The state BJP president Prabhat Jha described Mr Chouhan’s tenure, stretching over two successive terms, as five-years of political stability. In the past, BJP chief
ministers have come and gone in quick succession and there was a general opinion that the BJP cannot provide a stable government in this state, Mr Jha said adding Mr Chouhan has broken the trend and emerged as “the most popular chief minister in the state” and we have reason to celebrate the occasion as a day of pride for party workers.
BJP’s top brass, including party president Nitin Gadkari, would be assembling here on Monday to attend a gala function being organised in the State capital to mark the occasion. The jamboree ground here has been decked up with massive arrangements to accommodate more than one lakh party workers, who would be coming here from all parts of the state to join the festivity. Big signboards, hoardings and larger than life cutouts of Mr Chouhan have been put up at important road junctions and roundabouts in the city.
The state BJP office bearers and Mr Chouhan’s ministerial colleagues are leaving no stone unturned for the success of the party’s gala function on Monday.
Mr Chouhan is being projected by the BJP as a son of the soil, who rose from a farmer’s family in a village and became the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. His policies and programmes, particularly schemes like the popular “Ladli Laxmi Yojna” and the “Kanyadan Yojna” have come in for all-round praise.
His penchant for development and zeal to push the state on the fast track of development has been appreciated by the masses. He also has the capacity and natural flair for building spontaneous rapport with all sections of people in cities and the countryside. On numerous occasions, the chief minister has been modest to admit that he is not a know-all. The bureaucrats also should not hold the false impression that they know everything, has been his constant assertion. In this backdrop, Mr Chouhan has engaged himself in a continuous dialogue with the people by touring different parts of the state. Special panchayats (conventions) of women, farmers, schedules castes and tribes have been convened at his initiative to formulate government policies and programmes. Due to these initiatives, Mr Chouhan is often called the people’s chief minister.
Mr Chouhan’s rising popularity graph notwithstanding, a large section within the ruling BJP is of the strong opinion that bureaucrats were dictating the working of the state BJP government. There are state ministers who have even told this correspondent in confidence that the secretaries were not listening to them in crucial policy matters and as a consequence governance was becoming a casualty. While there are serious charges of corruption, the government’s intense drive to invite investment has also come under severe criticism. It is also being said in knowledgeable circles that transparency is being compromised while MoUs were being signed for mining and speedy industrial growth.