IF ELECTION management had a template, the BJP has used it all in Madhya Pradesh-from making Prime Minister Narendra Modi the face of the campaign to bringing back old war horses into the battle. It is an all-hands-on-the-deck effort.
With less than a month to go to the polls, the state is expected to set the tone for the Lok Sabha elections next year. But before that, the results will determine the future of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The longest serving BJP chief minister, Chouhan mixed welfarism and hindutva in equal measures to strengthen the party in the state. But now even his own partymen say there is a fatigue. He underwent an image makeover to overcome this, donning an aggressive avatar, bringing vigour in his body language and dialling up his connection with the voters. It remains to be seen if it is good enough to take on the Congress, and his competitors within the party.
Chouhan has been assiduously wooing women voters, with grand schemes for them. "You will miss me if I'm gone," he told them in a rally in his constituency, Budhni.
While there is no doubt that Chouhan is the BJP's best-known face in the state, the party has decided to follow the collective leadership formula for the election. This is best captured in the election publicity material in which Modi is the focus, and Chouhan is only one among the 10 state leaders.
Denne historien er fra November 05, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 05, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.