He is still a popular choice for chief minister. But farmer unrest, widespread caste agitations, a resurgent Congress and localised anti-incumbency make Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s bid to return for a fourth term a wobbly prospect
A lounge adgacent to the state hangar at the Raja Bhoj airport in Bhopal and not the fifth floor of Vallabh Bhavan, the state Mantralaya, has been the venue for a number of crucial administrative decisions Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken in the past three months. Reason? From mid-July onward, when his Jan Ashirwad Yatra mass-contact programme got under way in Ujjain, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister has been out on tour for at least six days a week, except for a two-week break when former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away.
Often, he has returned at 3 am only to be back on the trail by 9 am. The 18-hourday grind is in response to the strong challenge the Congress has mounted—something Chouhan acknowledges did not exist in 2003, 2008 and 2013, when the BJP won the assembly elections. The 2018 state poll is critical for the effect it will almost certainly have on the 2019 Lok Sabha election. What can Chouhan do to buck the anti-incumbency, accumulated over the 15 years he has ruled the state, and deliver MP to the BJP once again?
MANAGE NOMINATIONS AND REBELLION
The BJP and its affiliates are working at three levels to get ticket distribution right. While Chouhan continues to collect invaluable feedback while on his yatra, the BJP organisation is conducting a raishumari or consultation exercise, as part of which BJP leaders travel to districts and deliberate with office-bearers on the best-suited candidates.
Alongside, the RSS and other Sangh affiliates are conducting their own assessments. On his last visit, BJP president Amit Shah spent considerable time at state RSS headquarters Samidha while MP general secretary (organisation) Suhas Bhagat was ensconced for a marathon meeting on October 16 at the same venue with kshetra pracharak Deepak Vispute to get the Sangh’s feedback on candidates.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 12, 2018 من India Today.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 12, 2018 من India Today.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Killer Stress
Unhealthy work practices in Indian companies are taking a toll on employees, triggering health issues and sometimes even death
Shuttle Star
Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia
There's No Planet B
All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'
A Musical Marriage
Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation
Family Saga
RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world
