"Mama hi banenge na phirse mukhyamantri?" asked the cab driver who took me to the chief minister's house in Bhopal. Translation: Mama will surely be the chief minister again, right? People call Chouhan mama, maternal uncle.
Inside the house, Chouhan is extremely busy accepting greetings from hordes of party workers and leaders, and meeting media persons on the loop, but, as always, he is cool and composed.
Earlier in the day, Chouhan had visited the busy Nehru Nagar locality in Bhopal to meet his "Ladli Behnas" the common women. He spent quite some time with them, sitting on the ground answering questions, interacting with kids and eating food offered by the women. The bonding was palpable and the message clear he had gone to thank them as he credited women for the BJP's massive win.
He told me that he was confident of a big win because of the reaction of women he had interacted with. Afterwards, Chouhan apologised profusely for being able to give only a short interview. He insisted that I have tea before leaving, even as the next batch of visitors were upon him.
Later that night, Chouhan visited a night shelter, checking the arrangements in view of the cold weather and taking feedback from the occupants. When asked about his bond with the people, he attributed it to his style of functioning: "I did not run a government, I ran a family."
He also said that he has never been a contender for the post of chief minister and that he would undertake whatever responsibility he was given. Excerpts from the interview:
Q/ Many congratulations. What is the biggest factor to which you attribute this win?
Denne historien er fra December 17, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra December 17, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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