BJP divided on Shivraj Singh Chouhan future as chief minister

New Delhi: Differences have surfaced within the ruling BJP over the handling of the farmers’ agitation by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. With reports of two debt-ridden farmers committing suicide in the state in the past 24 hours, a section of senior leaders want the party leadership to immediately replace the CM. However, the pro-Singh camp, which comprises some influential leaders close to the RSS, are against any such action as they feel sacking Mr Chouhan at this juncture would “embolden” the Opposition and hit the party hard.

Mr Chouhan, whose image took a hit after the Vyapam scam, is now reeling over the agrarian unrest. A section of leaders told the party high command that Mr Chouhan was “rapidly losing his base, popularity and would eventually become a liability”.

This section wants Mr Chouhan shifted to the Centre and inducted into the Union Cabinet. This move has been in the works for a while, but the chief minister, who has been resisting attempts to dislodge him from the state, recently denied speculation that he would soon take over as defence minister.

The leaders who want Mr Chouhan “out of the state” feel any delay in removing him would only hurt the image of the party. They claimed his “hunger strike” had virtually “no impact” among farmers, and this was evident from the reports of farmers committing suicide.

It was further pointed out that there has been no let-up in the unrest and agricultural distress even after the CM had announced Rs 1 crore compensation for the farmers killed in the police firing. “The alleged suicides took place after the announcement,” a senior BJP leader said, and almost sounded like an Opposition leader as he claimed that the “Madhya Pradesh government has not been able to disburse the promised amount so far”.

Another section of the party close to the RSS and Mr Chouhan argued that any move to replace the CM “will be nothing less than hara kiri”. These leaders are learnt to have told the party high command that if Mr Chouhan was removed, “the BJP would be playing into the hands of the Opposition”. The leaders conveyed to the high command there was “no alternative” to Shivraj Singh Chouhan as “he is the only leader who has a mass base and appeal”. They claimed that “some senior leaders, who have been moved out of the state, were relentlessly conspiring against the chief minister”. As the debate within the party rages over Mr Chouhan’s fate, a senior leader pointed out that if the chief minister managed to win the Assembly polls in 2018 for the fourth time running, he would emerge a “major player” in the BJP. He claimed that unlike Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, the Madhya Pradesh CM has a “larger national appeal” and was “not regarded as an autocrat”.

It may be recalled that veteran leader L.K. Advani and other senior figures had been rooting for Mr Chouhan to be made the party’s face in the 2014 general election. After a majority of the party leaned towards Mr Narendra Modi, the MP chief minister went on record to say that he was “never in the race”.