BJP extends its footprint to Madhya Pradesh as Shivraj Singh Chouhan takes oath as chief minister

Bengaluru: Shivraj Singh Chouhan became fourth time lucky as he took oath as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh today (March 23). 

It comes just after 15 months after his government (BJP) failed to attain a majority in the Assembly elections. 

On the occasion, he said, “As a BJP worker, I'll work honestly for development of Madhya Pradesh. But right now, the aim is to stop spread of coronavirus infection. I've appealed to party workers to not celebrate the oath-taking ceremony and not come out on streets. They should stay at home and pray for the newly-formed govt.” 

Earlier, Gopal Bhargava proposed the name of Shivraj Singh Chouhan for post of leader of BJP Legislative Party. 

As reported by Times of India, BJP's central observers Arun Singh and Vinay Saharsabuddhe joined the meeting through videoconferencing.

Just a few days ago, Congress’s chief minister Kamal Nath resigned as he knew he would be unable to prove his numbers on the floor of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. 

He knew his time was up as the top court asked him to prove his majority within 5 pm on March 20. 

The Congress had sought time till the completion of the by-polls for the vacant seats. 

Meanwhile, all the 22 Congress MLAs who resigned from the party joined the BJP. 

Kamal Nath government began to be on a sticky wicket after Jyotiradiya Scindia’s tussle with Kamal Nath blew up into a huge issue. 

There was open rebellion in the party as Scindia refused to take care of the crisis even after Kamal Nath asked him to do so. 

In this current situation, the BJP has a majority in the house with 107 MLAs. The BSP has two MLAs, the SP one while there are four independents. All these MLAs had extended support to the

Congress during the formation of government in December 2018. In the changed scenario, the MLAs are likely to side with the BJP, as reported by Times of India. 
 

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