Is Shivraj Singh Chouhan the next BJP chief? Agriculture Minister responds with Mahabharat reference

Union Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has responded to reports suggesting prospects of him becoming the next national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Amid delay in appointed a new BJP president to replace Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Chouhan’s name has often been discussed as a potential candidate for the top party post. Chouhan's reported meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat last week further added fuel to the speculations. The meeting lasted 45 minutes, according to reports.

On 26 August, Tuesday, the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh responded to questions about him becoming the next BJP president. The Minister asserted he was single-mindedly focused on increasing farm production and boosting income of cultivators.

Chouhan was asked by media persons in Gwalior about his reported meeting with Bhagwat in New Delhi over the last weekend. Chouhan, however, sidestepped the queries and affirmed he was busy handling his ministerial responsibilities.

Chouhan, 66, a prominent OBC leader, has been the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for a record four times and is seen as a politician with grassroots connect. After leading the BJP to a thumping victory in the November 2023 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, he quit the assembly and fought and won the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Vidisha. He later joined the Narendra Modi's 3.0 Cabinet.

When reporters posed more questions on the issue of next BJP president, Chouhan remarked, " Neither have I ever thought of it, nor has anyone told me. I can't even think of it. I am the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister. I am doing this work like worship. Serving farmers is worship of God for me and I want to keep doing this worship."

The election for the BJP national president was supposed to take place in January. Nadda, who has been serving as the BJP National President since January 2020, had his term extended beyond the three-year limit to ensure a smooth transition and proper preparation for the next leadership phase.

At present, Nadda, whose term as BJP chief ended in June 2024, is the leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and holds the Health, Chemicals and Fertilisers portfolio in the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. He became the BJP's working president in 2019.

In January 2020, he was promoted to full-time president. In 2023, before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, his three-year tenure was extended until June 2024.

(With agency inputs)