Chouhan crash-lands, but his rivals take off
In his Twitter post on Sunday Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chose to be reticent. Ranjan Srivastava reports.
In his Twitter post on Sunday Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chose to be reticent.
“I congratulate Rajnathji for selecting a balanced and dynamic team. This shall lead BJP to the victory in the next parliamentary elections,” he said.
That he did not mention his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, ex-CM Uma Bharti or even former state party chief Prabhat Jha was seen as an indication of his disappointment at not being included in the BJP’s parliamentary board by Rajnath Singh.
Chouhan left for Mumbai in the afternoon. When reporters approached him, he declined to comment. “His inclusion in the parliamentary board was essential at this juncture,” said a BJP leader close to the CM.
At the recent BJP national executive in Delhi, senior leader LK Advani had showered praises on Chouhan and uttered his name in the same breath as Modi, giving rise to speculation that the MP CM’s stars were on the rise at the national level.
To add insult to injury, rivals Bharti and Jha have been made party vice-presidents.