Senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for the fourth time on Monday. He was sworn in by Governor Lalji Tandon at Raj Bhawan at 9 pm.
Chouhan, who was earlier elected leader of the state BJP legislature party, took oath as the 19th chief minister of the state days after the Kamal Nath government collapsed following a political crisis triggered by the stunning switch of Jyotiraditya Scindia from the Congress to the saffron camp.
Popularly known among his followers as 'Mamaji', Chouhan was sworn in chief minister of Madhya Pradesh thrice earlier - in 2005, after Uma Bharti stepped down over a riots case, and for later two full terms in 2008 and 2013. He stepped down after the Congress won a narrow majority in the December 2018 Assembly elections, after which the Kamal Nath government came to power.
The Kamal Nath government plunged into a political crisis after 22 Congress MLAs quit the Assembly following the resignation of Scindia from the party. Nath resigned last week hours before he was to face a trust vote in the Assembly.
Earlier in the day, the BJP legislature party members—wearing masks due to coronavirus threat and sitting two chairs away from each other—unanimously elected Chouhan as their leader.
Senior BJP MLA and ex-leader of opposition Gopal Bhargava proposed the name of Chouhan as legislature party leader, which was endorsed by Vijay Shah, Meena Singh, Paras Jain and other MLAs.
With inputs from PTI
