Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh descried many important political events in 2023. Because it was an election year, all eyes were set on the assembly polls that just concluded. Stories had been scribbled about many other events since the beginning of 2023, but as the year stomped into history the footprint it left on its pages relates nothing – but politics.
It saw the exit of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who held the reins of power for nearly 16 and a half years. The command of the state has gone into the hands of Mohan Yadav. Just as the year was about to depart, the ministry was formed, and Yadav and his team rolled up their sleeves to face the challenges of 2024.
At the beginning of the year, both the President and the Prime Minister visited the state to address the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan’ and praised the work of the state government. Throughout the year, there were speculations whether the assembly election would be fought under the leadership of Chouhan.
Though he led the BJP from the front, the party removed him after the results were out. After a long time, the BJP did not announce a chief ministerial face before the election which was fought in the name of Modi. Chouhan sweated it out to romp home, but the BJP gave credit for its victory to Modi.
The Ladli Behna Yojna was the much-talked-about welfare scheme of the government. In January, the then chief minister announced at a function in Narmadapuram that Rs 1,000 a month would be given to women. Rules were made for the scheme, and the women were asked to fill in the forms. The first instalment was transferred to their accounts in June.
It was promised that the amount under the scheme would be raised to Rs 3,000 a month. To make the government’s intention clear, a sum of Rs 250 was added, and an amount of Rs 1,250 was transferred to their accounts in September. The government pays Rs 1,250 to each of 1.32 crore women every month. The scheme created a rift between the central leadership and Chouhan.
The BJP wanted to give credit to Modi for its victory, but the former chief minister dedicated it to the Ladli Behna Yojna which created crannies in the relationship between Chouhan and the party’s central leadership. ‘Sidhi pee gate’ was another incident, though important, it saddened everyone. When a video clip of a youth peeing on a tribal man in Sidhi went viral on social media, it raised a political storm across the country.
To ice up the incident, Chouhan washed the feet of the tribal man and sought an apology from him. Because of this incident, BJP’s former legislator was denied a ticket from Sidhi The incident, however, did not have any political knock-on effect on the BJP. The party won the Sidhi seat where the incident took place.
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