Bhopal: Nine days after losing power in a cliff hanger battle in the recently held assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, outgoing chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan warned his adversaries, particularly the ruling Congress, not to write him off, saying “Tiger abhi zinda hai (Tiger is still alive).”
Significantly, Mr Chouhan forecast an early polls in Madhya Pradesh in the wake of no political party gaining majority in the November 28 assembly elections in the state.
Reassuring of his backing to electorates of his assembly constituency Budhni who dropped in his official residence here late on Wednesday night, despite being out of power, Mr Chouhan said, “There is no need to worry about your wellbeing. Nobody can harm you as long as I am here”.
“Tiger abhi zinda hai”, he said quoting the title of a Salman Khan-starrer Bollywood blockbuster.
Predicted a snap poll in MP in wake of the elections throwing a fractured mandate, he said, “This government may not last its full tenure of five years”.
“May be it will not take an entire five years, maybe I will be back sooner than you expect”, he quipped.
Later on Thursday, he tweeted, “I have taken two steps back to take a big leap”.
While Congress formed government in the state with support of SP (one seat), BSP (two seats) and four Independents after emerging single largest party by security 114 out of 230 seats, BJP lost the chance of retaining power in the state for fourth time in a row by bagging 109 seats.
Incidentally, Mr Chouhan on Thursday set out on a journey by train from Bhopal to Bina in MP to interact with people gathered to welcome him at every railway stations in the route.
He declared to visit every village in the state in his mass contact programme after spending three days in Budhni from Friday.
