Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has dropped enough hints that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will bank on the time-tested war horse for electoral management during the coming Assembly elections.
In a surprise move on Monday, Chouhan went to meet BJP parliamentarian Anil Dave at his residence in Shivaji Nagar in the State capital after cancelling his earlier engagements.
The duo held discussions for nearly half an hour. Although Chouhan said it was a courtesy call, sources said they talked about the party organisation, RSS and also about the necessary steps that should be taken by the party for improving its electoral prospects in the State.
This initiative by Chouhan is seen by many as a move to mend fences with Dave who enjoys proven credentials of running successful electoral campaigns for the party earlier. Dave had played important role in managing the Assembly elections in 2003 and 2008. He was especially roped in by Uma Bharati in 2003 to remove Congress from power. Adept in running focused electoral campaigns, Dave set up a centre named 'Javali' and launched an all-out attack against then Congress Chief Minister Digvijay Singh.
Many political commentators attribute BJP's electoral fortunes to the propaganda skills of Dave. He repeated this performance in 2008 by ensuring BJP's second consecutive win in the State.
However, of late, he had been sidelined from party organisation as well as the government. Although Dave chose not to speak to anyone about it in public, it is understood that he was dissatisfied with the party leadership for quite some time.
Notably, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is taking several steps to ensure that party is strengthened and senior leaders play tunes of harmony at a time when the Assembly elections are fast approaching. Earlier, he took steps to placate senior leaders like Sumitra Mahajan and Kailash Joshi ensuring that they remain well within the fold.