Biswajit Jha
Following are the CM candidates from the main political parties in the fray:
Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP)
The present Chief Minister Shivraj Singh’s ascendancy to the top post of state has been through the ranks. Born on March 5, 1959, in a farmers’ family at village Jait in Sehore district Shivraj Singh, who holds a Master’s in Philosophy, joined RSS and ABVP in his student life.
From then he has held several party posts of ABVP, Bharatiya Yuva Morcha (youth cell of BJP), and subsequently of the BJP. A five-time member of Parliament (MP), Chouhan became National General Secretary of BJP before taking over state’s chief ministership from Babulal Gaur at the end of 2005, at a time when the state was suffering from political turmoil borne out after Uma Bharati was denied the CM’s post.
With his tremendous knowledge of grass-root politics and administrative skills, Singh has managed the party affairs very shrewdly after the charismatic Bharati deserted the BJP to launch his own party (BJS). Under his leadership, the BJP successfully fought several by-elections forcing the Central leaderships to go to the Assembly elections with him at the helm.
Suresh Pachouri (Congress)
Former Union Minister and a Rajya Sabha MP, Suresh Pachouri is being seen as the front runner after former CM Digvijay Singh declared himself out of the race for the top post.
Pachouri, since his appointment as the state unit chief, has attempted to downplay factionalism- rampant in the state Congress- and diversify political liabilities by broad-basing the party hierarchy.
On Pachouri’s pre poll to-do-list is a middle path that he is expected to work out with former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who has remained conspicuously silent over the state elections.
Though, as many political observers believe, Pachouri’s lack of electoral experience is likely to see the Congress face rough during the poll campaign.
Kamal Nath (Congress)
Though the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry has so far distanced himself from state-level politics, the absence of a dynamic and charismatic leader in state Congress has suddenly given him the opportunity to toss his hat into the ring.
Though his leverage is restricted among Mahakoushal area of the state (as he represents Chindwara constituency in the Lok Sabha), his name as a probable CM candidate came into prominence when former president of the state Congress endorsed his name which was backed by former CM Digvijay Singh.
Uma Bharati (BJS)
This firebrand sadhvi and former Chief Minister of the state is the only political leader in the state who has the political charisma to upset any political equation single handedly.
The BJP, under Bharati, had swept to power in 2003 ending a ten-year Congress rule under the chief ministership of Digvijay Singh. She, however, quit the party over a trivial altercation with party leadership.
After a prolonged lie low, Bharati re-emerged on the political horizon with a hugely attended public rally in the state capital that has thrown BJP’s poll preparations out of gear, by adding a glimmer of hope for the Congress and a new dimension to the contest.
Bharati says her party is in the polls to contest the Congress, a plan that leaves no doubts in the minds of the BJP that the Sadhvi will attempt to polarize its voters in the contest, matching Shivraj-Tomar combine’s liberal pre-poll rhetoric with her own Hindutva oratory.
Bharti has attracted several BJP leaders who are upset with the party for ignoring them while distribution of tickets.
