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Defying claims of being sidelined after being denied the Chief Minister's post for the fifth time last year, BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan has won Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha Lok Sabha seat for the sixth time by a record margin of 821,000 votes.

 

The former four-time Chief Minister, affectionately known as "mama" (maternal uncle) and "paon-paon wale bhaiya" (foot soldier), has diligently cultivated his 'son of the soil' image, aligning himself with the socio-economic concerns of farmers, villagers, women, and children in the state.

 

During his more than 18-year tenure as Chief Minister, barring a 15-month interlude of Congress rule in 2018, Chouhan evolved from a shy, simple politician into a shrewd leader with mass appeal and unparalleled work ethic.

 

Known for his soft-spoken nature and simplicity, the 65-year-old led the BJP's campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state. He presented himself as one among the people, promising further development and ample funding for populist schemes launched under his leadership.

 

On Sunday, Chouhan became a Union cabinet minister for the first time in his over three-decade-long political career.

 

His induction into the Union cabinet was anticipated after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him at a rally in Madhya Pradesh before the Lok Sabha elections.

 

“Our brother Shivraj ji is the candidate from Vidisha. We both used to work together in the organisation, we both were chief ministers. When Shivraj went to Parliament, we were working together as the general secretary of the party. Now I want to take him with me (to Delhi) once again,” Modi had said.

 

Born on March 5, 1959, into a farming family in Jait village, Sehore district, Chouhan's political journey began with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of 13.

 

His leadership skills first emerged when he was elected president of the Model Higher Secondary School students' union in 1975. He participated in the underground movement against the Emergency and was imprisoned in 1976-77, as well as on other occasions for political agitations and public causes.

 

An RSS volunteer since 1977, Chouhan is a gold medallist in a Master of Philosophy from Barkatullah University in Bhopal. He has also served as general secretary of the BJP and president of the party's MP unit.

 

Chouhan was first elected to the MP assembly from Budhni constituency in 1990. The following year, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the first time from Vidisha constituency. He was re-elected from the seat in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2004, winning his fifth Lok Sabha election with a significant margin of over 260,000 votes.

 

In the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Chouhan campaigned extensively for the BJP in the state, where the party won all 29 Lok Sabha seats, including the Congress stronghold of Chhindwara, which the saffron party had failed to capture in 2019.

 

Although Chouhan was not projected as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the 2023 MP assembly elections, he swayed the outcome in the party's favour by launching game-changing schemes such as the Ladli Behna to counter anti-incumbency against his then-government.

 

In 2020, when the Congress government collapsed, the BJP central leadership surprisingly chose Chouhan as the Chief Minister for a fourth term during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

 

Despite opposition Congress linking Chouhan to the multi-crore Vyapam scam, he emerged unscathed, with the CBI giving him a clean chit in the case.