Mohan Yadav takes oath as MP CM with 2 Deputies Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda

Bhopal, Dec 13 (IANS) Mohan Yadav -- a third time MLA from an Other Backward Classes (OBC) with strong roots in the Hindu nationalist Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) took oath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on Wednesday.

Two Deputy Chief Ministers - Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla -- both of whom have been ministers in previous tenure of the state government, also took oath.

The swearing-in was conducted by Madhya Pradesh's Governor Mangubhai Patel in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, BJP's national head J. P. Nadda and the Chief Ministers of several states ruled by the saffron party.

Yadav - a wrestler and a businessman-turned-politician became the 19th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh since the state came into exist in 1952. Ravishankar Shukla was the first CM (1952-1956) of Madhya Pradesh.

Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was replaced by Mohan Yadav, took the oath of the post four-time and served for over 16 years. The moment before Yadav was sworn in as CM, Chouhan who was until then incumbent CM, said, "jas ki tas rakh deeni chadariya."

By picking an OBC as CM, a Dalit (Jagdish Devda) and an upper caste (Rajendra Shukla) as Deputy CMs to lead the state, the saffron party has again demonstrated its tactic of balancing caste aspirations under a united Hindu political consciousness.

With the selection of Yadav as its CM in MP, the BJP has also indicated the party's desire to create a new leadership in the state, where it already has strong ideological and organisational roots, and cement its goodwill among the numerically-significant backward caste voters.

Barring a 15-month stint by Congress in 2018-2020, the BJP has ruled MP since 2003 without interruption. Much of that was under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whose time as a CM also came to an end, for now, with Yadav’s elevation.

In 2023, Yadav won his third consecutive election from the Ujjain South seat, although the margin of victory over the Congress candidate this time was thin (12,941 votes).