Former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan turns emotional; says he is not going away from State

Former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan surrounded by emotional women supporters, seen getting tearful & promising to stay in MP.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who launched several welfare schemes targeted at women during his tenure, was surrounded by women supporters, who broke down and hugged him as emotions ran high during his visit to his former Lok Sabha constituency Vidisha.

Mr. Chouhan, who stepped down as CM earlier this week, was also seen getting emotional and in tears as women encircled him and raised slogans in his praise while he was on his way to a famous Hanuman temple in Vidisha, around 55 km from Bhopal, on December 14.

Calling him "Bhaiyya" [brother] and "Mama" [maternal uncle], the women and girls hugged him. They said they want him back (as the CM). The former CM could not hold back his tears and assured them that he was not leaving Madhya Pradesh.

In the November 17 Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered an emphatic win by bagging 163 out of the total 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh. The saffron party then picked Mohan Yadav, a three-time MLA from temple town Ujjain as the new Chief Minister of the State.

Mr. Chouhan, who dominated the politics of Madhya Pradesh for nearly two decades, resigned as the Chief Minister on December 11, after Mr. Yadav was chosen as his successor, bringing curtains down on an era.

Mr. Chouhan himself won this year's Assembly elections by a record margin of more than one lakh votes from Budhni in Sehore district.

Even though there were talks of anti-incumbency, Mr. Chouhan (64) sought to turn the tables in the BJP’s favour in Madhya Pradesh by launching a game-changer scheme such as 'Ladli Behna'. But his party had refrained from projecting him as the CM face in the Assembly elections.