Over a week after the results of the Madhya Pradesh elections were announced, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mohan Yadav was on Monday, 11 December, chosen to be the next chief minister of the state.
"I thank the central and state leadership for giving the responsibility to such a small leader like me. I will put in my best possible efforts with your blessings," Yadav said after the BJP's legislative party meeting.
Yadav, who is the Higher Education Minister in the outgoing government, won from the Ujjain Dakshin constituency in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections.
Meanwhile, Jagdish Deora and Rajendra Shukla have been named Deputy CMs of the state, and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Speaker of the Assembly.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was seen as a frontrunner for the top post after the BJP's emphatic win in the state, tendered his resignation as MP CM to Governor Mangubhai Patel after the party's meeting.
Chouhan also congratulated the CM designate, expressing hope that the state will witness "new heights of progress and development" under his leadership.
"Hearty congratulations to hardworking fellow Shri @DrMohanYadav51 ji on being nominated as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in the BJP Legislative Party meeting," he said in a post in Hindi.
Meanwhile, Yadav is said to have met the Governor to stake claim to form the next government.
Yadav, who belongs to the OBC (Other Backward Classes) community, joined politics in 1982. He became the co-secretary of Madhav Science College Student Union and later served as its president in 1984.
Yadav also became the Ujjain president of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the same year and held the position for around two years. As a student politician, he became the state co-secretary of the ABVP and a member of the national executive in 1988.
He is also known to be an active working member of the Ujjain branch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Further, he held the post of Ujjain Development Authority chairman from 2004 to 2010.
His foray into Assembly politics took place when he became an MLA for the first time in 2013. He retain his seat in the 2018 elections as well.
Meanwhile, Yadav's family expressed their gratitude to the BJP's leadership for choosing him to lead the state government.
"Bhagwan Mahakal ka ashirwad hai, party ka ashirwad hai. (It is all due to the blessings of Lord Mahakal and the BJP). He has been working with the BJP since 1984. Whenever he used to come to Ujjain, he went to offer prayers to Mahakal," Yadav's wife was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
His sister, on the other hand, said that they were not even sure whether Yadav was being seriously considered for the top post.
"Our joy knows no bounds. Yes, his name was doing the rounds but we didn't know it exactly. God has given him the fruits of his hard work," she said.
