THE BHARATIYA Janata Party government in the State completes its three years on December 8 with an emphatic win in Pandhana Assembly by-election. The BJP leaders including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appear to be on cloud nine. They not only drew pleasure from the fact that the party has been winning by-polls after by-polls overcoming anti-incumbency but also from the poor show of Bharatiya Janshakti’s Uma Bharti.
After Budhni assembly by-poll the party won Vidisha Lok Sabha and Bada Malehra seats by-polls and now Pandhana . In term of assembly seats wise, the party got better of its rivals in 11 assembly seats including 8 falling under Vidisha seat.
However, challenges lie ahead for the government on development front. BJP leader L K Advani has cautioned the government against complacency on certain occasions and reminded it of the fact that the BJP was voted to power on BSP (bijli, sadak, pani).
Chouhan realises that the task is difficult to achieve, if not impossible. He said today while addressing the BJP workers at the State BJP office that completion of three years in government was just a halt. The goal was still away. And the goal was not the Assembly elections but how to speed up development and bring the State on par with developed states.
In fact, Pandhana victory could not have come at a better time for the government. It has added to celebration mood of the party and boosted the morale of Chouhan Government.
{{/usCountry}}In fact, Pandhana victory could not have come at a better time for the government. It has added to celebration mood of the party and boosted the morale of Chouhan Government.
{{/usCountry}}When Uma Bharti was asked by the BJP top leadership to lead the party in 2003 Assembly elections hardly anybody had expected such a comprehensive victory of the party. It bagged as many as 173 seats while the Congress was relegated to the strength of 38 seats.
Since then the period of three years has seen a unique combination of four chief secretaries – A V Singh, B K Saha, Vijay Singh and now Rakesh Sahni; four directors general of police- Dinesh Jugran, S K Das, Swaraj Puri and now A R Pawar. The State BJP has seen four presidents - Kailash Joshi, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Satyanarayan Jatia and now Narendra Singh Tomar.
This period has seen three chief ministers - Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and now Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
With the BJP national president Rajnath Singh’s words that Chouhan would become the CM again after 2008 Assembly elections and Chouhan’s growing strength in the government and party, the speculations that the State would see the fourth CM of the BJP government appear to have been quelled for now.
The concept of development has also seen transition from Uma Bharti’s Panch-Ja to Babulal Gaur’s Gokul Gram to Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s class and segment politics.
Instead of confining certain government schemes for SC/ST/OBC, the CM has drawn an economy line cutting across the castes and communities to expand the base of the schemes like Deendayal Antyodaya Upchar Yojana and Kanyadan Yojana etc. He is now focusing on difference segments of the society like women, farmers, tribals, youths etc to address their needs. The State Government claims to have made several achievements in the last three years.