Shivraj Chouhan, asked if he's in the running to be BJP chief, talks of ‘just one goal’

I'm focused on agriculture, farmers welfare, says Chouhan amid buzz he is eying BJP chief post

Updated on: Aug 26, 2025, 20:35:07 IST

By HT News Desk

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Amid political buzz after his meeting with the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday sidestepped the question if he was in the race to become the next BJP national president.

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a four-time former CM of Madhya Pradesh, during a recent visit to a farm. (X/@OfficeofSSC)

“I want to say one thing: PM Narendra Modi has entrusted me with the responsibility of looking after ministries of agriculture, farmers' welfare and rural development. At this moment, agriculture is in every pore of my body and farmers are in my breath,” PTI quoted him as saying in Gwalior, when asked directly about the meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in New Delhi last weekend.

"I have only one goal: how to increase agricultural production, boost farmers' income, develop rural areas, make more Lakhpati Didis," he emphasised. A ‘Lakhpati Didi’ is a member of a self-help group (SHG) who earns an annual household income exceeding ₹1 lakh — one of the pet projects of the government.

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When reporters pressed on the question about the next BJP president, Chouhan added, "Neither have I ever thought of it, nor has anyone told me. I can't even think of it. I am the agriculture and rural development minister. I am doing this work like worship. Serving farmers is worship of God for me and I want to keep doing this worship."

The BJP national chiefship is currently held on extension by Jagat Prakash Nadda, whose three-year term ended about two years ago.

Former four-time Madhya Pradesh chief minister Chouhan, 66, is a prominent leader who comes from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), which have been a key electoral factor in Modi's and the BJP's success.

Chouhan has in the past been vice-president of the BJP national unit, and two decades ago led the youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

His name was also said to be in the mix for the prime ministerial candidature over a decade ago when Narendra Modi, then Gujarat CM, was rising to the central political stage.

Chouhan eventually shifted to New Delhi and became a member of Modi's cabinet after leading the BJP to a thumping victory in the November 2023 assembly election in Madhya Pradesh. He quit the assembly and fought and won the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Vidisha.

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HT News Desk
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