Battle For The Middle

Shivraj Singh Chouhan remains a strong contender even after 14 years at the helm, but the Congress poses a real challenge for him.

- Rahul Noronha

With assembly elections due at the end of the year, Madhya Pradesh seems poised for a contest that could go down to the wire. Though plagued by legacy issues, the Congress for the first time in 15 years is in the fight. One indication of this could be BJP leader and state social welfare board chairperson Padma Shukla quitting the BJP on September 24 and joining the Congress. It is a significant loss for the BJP as Shukla is a leader from the Mahakoshal region and someone who has her ear to the ground.

Yet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan remains the BJP’s greatest asset even after 14-odd years at the helm, even if the same cannot be said of his MLAs. One challenge for the party comes from the upper caste and backward class anger over its support to the amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act this year. The upper castes, especially in urban centres, have always voted the BJP. So have a large chunk of the backward classes, something the party attributes to its choice of OBC CMs: Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Chouhan.