Mohan Yadav and Vishnu Deo Sai were sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma will take oath on December 15.
In Bhopal, Mohan Yadav (58), the leader of the BJP legislative party and MLA from Ujjain South, was administered the oath of office by Governor Mangubhai Patel at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal. Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, Yadav visited a temple in Bhopal and then proceeded to the State BJP office to pay respects to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh, and BJP’s founding ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
The swearing-in ceremony saw the crowd chanting “mama, mama” as Chouhan arrived on stage, while “Modi, Modi” slogans remained prevalent throughout the ceremony.
Ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Mohan said that Madhya Pradesh would follow in the footsteps of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in leading the country. “I come from the land of King Vikramaditya, and I am committed to the progress of the State and fulfilling the aspirations of crores of citizens of Madhya Pradesh. We will witness the same good governance that existed during the rule of King Vikramaditya,’ said Yadav, the three-time BJP MLA and the 19th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
He is the State’s fourth OBC Chief Minister from the BJP since 2003, following Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Yadav’s appointment as Chief Minister also marks the end of the era of BJP stalwart and four-time CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who dominated the State’s politics for close to two decades.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Nitin Gadkari were present on the occasion.
In Raipur, four-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time State BJP chief Vishnu Deo Sai, the BJP legislative party leader and MLA from Kunkuri seat, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. State BJP chief Arun Sao and MLA Vijay Sharma took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers.
Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sai and his two deputies during a grand ceremony held at the Science College ground, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, and Chief Ministers of some States.
Earlier in the day, Sai offered prayers at the Jagannath temple in Raipur ahead of his swearing-in ceremony. He also paid tributes to freedom fighter Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by garlanding their statues at different places in the State Capital, officials said. Later, Sai reached his residence in Purena area and sought his mother’s blessings. He and his wife Kaushalya Devi Sai performed “Navgrah” puja at their house, the statement said. Sai (59) will be the fourth Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, which was created in 2000.
Sao (54) hails from the influential Sahu (Teli) OBC community. Sharma (50), a Brahmin, is the State BJP’s general secretary.
The Chhattisgarh cabinet can have a maximum of 13 ministers, including the Chief Minister, according to the norm. Speculation surrounding State political circles suggest that the new council of ministers will consist of a mix of fresh faces and old-timers.
Sai is the first tribal Chief Minister from the BJP in Chhattisgarh. The party decided to give the top post to a leader from the community that accounts for nearly 32 per cent of the State’s population and is the second most dominant social group after OBCs.
The BJP made a stunning comeback to power in the November polls, winning 54 seats in the 90-member State Assembly. The Congress, which won 68 seats in 2018, was reduced to 35, while the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) emerged victorious in one Assembly constituency.
Despite inheriting a family political legacy and holding key portfolios when he was a Union minister, Sai is known for his down-to-earth approach, work dedication, and determination to achieve goals. Sai has headed the BJP’s Chhattisgarh unit three times, displaying the Central leadership’s faith in his organisational skills. It was BJP stalwart late Dilip Singh Judev who encouraged Sai to enter electoral politics in 1990. In the same year, Sai was elected as an MLA for the first time on a BJP ticket from Tapkara (in Jashpur district) in undivided Madhya Pradesh. He retained the seat in the 1993 assembly polls.
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