Shivraj Singh Chouhan completes 10 years

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s wife Sadhna Singh takes a selfie with Geeta, a deaf and mute Indian woman who returned to India from Pakistan, at a programme in Indore on Sunday. — PTI

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday completed 10 years in office, becoming the first non-Congress chief minister in the state to do so, even as his tenures saw challenges like the Vyapam scam and defeat in recently-held Lok Sabha bypoll.

With his two back-to-back terms, Mr Chouhan broke the record of his predecessor and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who ruled the state for two consecutive tenures from 1993-2003.

The BJP organised a celebration on Sunday to mark the completion of the period.

The 56-year-old BJP leader was sworn in as the state’s chief minister for the first time on November 29, 2005, after the tumultuous run of the BJP-government that came to power in 2003 which then waded through political turbulence by having two chief ministers in a short span of two years.

In 2003, Union minister Uma Bharati led a surcharged poll campaign to dethrone the then chief minister Digvijay Singh, who headed the state Congress government since 1993. Ms Bharati remained at the top post from December 8, 2003 to August 22, 2004.

After that, Babulal Gaur became the chief minister of the state till November 29, 2005.

Though Digvijay defeated Mr Chouhan at the former’s princely state and home turf Raghogarh in 2003, the destiny had much more in store for Mr Chouhan as in less than two years after that loss, he became the chief minister replacing Babulal Gaur, the present home minister of the state.

Mr Gaur was forced to step down as Ms Bharati, after getting released from Hubli jail in connection with a case of alleged insult to the tricolour, demanded from the party that Mr Gaur be removed and she should be made again the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, but in vain.

However, Mr Chouhan then got an opportunity to become the chief minister for the first time in his political career of over one-and-a-half decade. Mr Chouhan first got elected as MLA in 1989-90 from Budhni Assembly seat and was later forced to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Vidisha against his wishes.

Since then he represented the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat for five consecutive terms till 2004.