10-06-2008, 07:07 AM
http://www.livemint.com/2008/10/05220849/C...larity-giv.html
<b>Chouhanâs popularity gives BJP the edge in MP</b>
The ruling BJP is on a strong wicket in the state, mainly due to the popularity of its chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has made a strong impact on voters in the last two-and-a-half years
With the Election Commission set to give dates for key state elections later this month, itâs time for this column to start gathering specific feedback on how various parties stack up in different states that are set to go to polls.
Having accurately called the state elections in Uttar Pradesh last year and later Gujarat and Karnataka, the Bottom Line column hopes it can provide readers with a similar early and accurate prediction. While it is early in the game, letâs start with Madhya Pradesh today.
My current reading from the state suggests that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on a strong wicket in the state, mainly due to the popularity of its chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has made a strong impact on voters in the last two-and-a-half years that he has been chief minister.
But Chouhan remains one of Indiaâs least known and unexplored chief ministers and so I headed to Tikamgarh and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh where, last week, he was on the last lap of a five-week-long tour, dubbed Jan Ashirvad Yatra, or a trip to to seek peopleâs blessings, for a renewed mandate.
At many small urban locations in Tikamgarh district, which is the native district of Uma Bharati, a former BJP leader and its tormentor in the state now, Chouhanâs rallies attracted some 20,000 strong crowds, mostly comprising young people as well as the poor, with a sprinkling of enthusiastic women.
I asked several people who were at a public meeting in Tikamgarh as to why they came to hear him.
Here is what Mahendra Singh Lodhi, a self-described strong Congress sympathizer had to tell me: âChouhan is the best chief minister that the state has had for a long time and he has done in a short period what others could not in decades.â
That summed up the public sentiment in the state, often cutting across party lines, with many voters saying they appreciate Chouhanâs track record as chief minister, his simplicity, accessibility and frequent travels to their districts.
As Chouhanâs campaign continued into the night, at 1am, I found nearly 5,000 people waiting eagerly
<b>Chouhanâs popularity gives BJP the edge in MP</b>
The ruling BJP is on a strong wicket in the state, mainly due to the popularity of its chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has made a strong impact on voters in the last two-and-a-half years
With the Election Commission set to give dates for key state elections later this month, itâs time for this column to start gathering specific feedback on how various parties stack up in different states that are set to go to polls.
Having accurately called the state elections in Uttar Pradesh last year and later Gujarat and Karnataka, the Bottom Line column hopes it can provide readers with a similar early and accurate prediction. While it is early in the game, letâs start with Madhya Pradesh today.
My current reading from the state suggests that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on a strong wicket in the state, mainly due to the popularity of its chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has made a strong impact on voters in the last two-and-a-half years that he has been chief minister.
But Chouhan remains one of Indiaâs least known and unexplored chief ministers and so I headed to Tikamgarh and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh where, last week, he was on the last lap of a five-week-long tour, dubbed Jan Ashirvad Yatra, or a trip to to seek peopleâs blessings, for a renewed mandate.
At many small urban locations in Tikamgarh district, which is the native district of Uma Bharati, a former BJP leader and its tormentor in the state now, Chouhanâs rallies attracted some 20,000 strong crowds, mostly comprising young people as well as the poor, with a sprinkling of enthusiastic women.
I asked several people who were at a public meeting in Tikamgarh as to why they came to hear him.
Here is what Mahendra Singh Lodhi, a self-described strong Congress sympathizer had to tell me: âChouhan is the best chief minister that the state has had for a long time and he has done in a short period what others could not in decades.â
That summed up the public sentiment in the state, often cutting across party lines, with many voters saying they appreciate Chouhanâs track record as chief minister, his simplicity, accessibility and frequent travels to their districts.
As Chouhanâs campaign continued into the night, at 1am, I found nearly 5,000 people waiting eagerly