BHOPAL: Dr Mohan Yadav -- the third-time MLA from Ujjain Dakshin seat and minister of higher education in the outgoing Shivraj Singh Chouhan government – was sworn in as the new chief minister of Madhya Pradesh at Bhopal’s Motilal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday.
Dr Yadav was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Mangubhai C Patel, after which the two deputy CMs, including finance minister in the outgoing government Jagdish Dewda (seventh time MLA from Malhargarh-SC seat) and public relations minister and fifth-time MLA from Rewa seat Rajendra Shukla were sworn in as deputy CMs in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda and chief ministers of 11 other BJP/NDA ruled states.
However, no other minister (cabinet or state) besides the CM and the two deputy CMs were sworn in at the ceremony attended by around 2000 strong gathering on Wednesday.
Dr Yadav, who comes from a strong RSS background, is the seventh politician from the 66 assembly seats-strong Malwa-Nimar (western and southwestern MP region) to have become the MP CM. Before it, the six other CMs from the same region, included Bhagwant Rao Mandloi, Kailash Nath Katju, PC Sethi, Kailash Chandra Joshi, Virendra Kumar Sakhlecha and Sunderlal Patwa.
Dr Yadav is the second politician from Ujjain district to have become MP CM, after Congress’s PC Sethi, who was the CM for more than three years in 1972-75.
The swearing of the new CM and the two deputy CMs marks the end of the long chief ministerial era of outgoing CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan – BJP’s longest-serving CM in the country, who served four chief ministerial tenures of more than 16 years and five months in the central Indian state.
Upsetting most poll predictions, the BJP had retained power in the state with a resounding 163-66 seats win over the Congress in the recent assembly polls.
Eight days after the results were declared, Dr Mohan Yadav (who was nowhere in the race for the CM) was elected the BJP legislature party leader in Bhopal on December 11.