The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday (December 11) declared the chief ministerial face for Madhya Pradesh, delivering a surprise name in the form of Mohan Yadav who won from the Ujjain South Assembly constituency. The decision was taken in the legislative party meeting conducted in Bhopal today in the presence of the central observers. He will be the second 'Yadav' chief minister of the BJP.
Who is Mohan Yadav?
Dr Mohan Yadav was the Minister for Higher Education in Madhya Pradesh under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from 2020 to 2023. In the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election, Mohan Yadav won the Ujjain South constituency by a margin of 12,941 votes as he bagged 95,699 votes and beat Congress party's Chetan Premnarayan Yadav. The Congress party candidate managed to get 82,758 votes.
He became an MLA for the first time in 2013 from the Ujjain South seat and was re-elected to the Assembly in 2018. He once again won the election this time in 2023.
In the 2013 Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election, Dr Mohan Yadav won the Ujjain South constituency by defeating Congress candidate Jaysingh Darbar with a margin of 9,652 votes. Yadav received 73,108 votes against Congress candidate Darbar's 63,456 votes.
In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election, Dr Mohan Yadav retained the Ujjain South constituency by defeating Congress candidate Rajendra Vashishtha Raju Bhaiya with a margin of 18,960 votes. Yadav received 78,178 votes against Congress candidate Vashishtha's 59,218 votes.
What did Mohan Yadav say?
He expressed gratitude to the BJP for the move and said that the party made a small worker of the party as the Chief Minister. "I am a small worker of the party. I thank all of you, the state leadership and the central leadership. With your love and support, I will try to fulfil my responsibilities," he said.
BJP leaders including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, congratulated party leader Mohan Yadav after he was named as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Several names were in the fray
Since the BJP won the elections on December 3, several names were speculated to be in the race for the top post -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Pralhad Singh Patel, Narendra Singh Tomar and Kailash Vijayvargiya. However, the BJP in a surprise move, declared Mohan Yadav as the chief ministerial face in the legislative party meeting.
How did Mohan Yadav's family react?
Mohan Yadav's father, Poonam Chand Yadav said, "Achcha lag raha hain (it feels good)."
Sister of Madhya Pradesh's new Chief Minister, Mohan Yadav said, "Our joy knows no bounds. Yes, his name was doing the rounds but we didn't know it exactly. God has given him the fruits of his hard work."
Yadav's wife thanked the party for the decision and said that he has been working for the party since 1984 and he has been blessed today.
"Bhagwan Mahakal ka ashirwad hai, party ka ashirwad hai. He has been working with the BJP since 1984. Whenever he used to come to Ujjain, he went to offer prayers to Mahakal..." she said.
(With ANI inputs)
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