Tomar vs Scindia, Chouhan vs VD Sharma — MP BJP rife with rivalries & CM contenders as polls near

There are growing differences in Madhya Pradesh BJP, while high command is considering promoting fresh faces and looking beyond CM Chouhan to lead party in state, it is learnt.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti’s public outburst last week on not being invited to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jan Ashirwad Yatra, launched by party president J.P. Nadda in Madhya Pradesh (MP) on 3 September, underlines growing differences within the state unit of the ruling party.

It’s not just about Bharti. With assembly polls due in Madhya Pradesh later this year, a many-sided conflict over the chief minister’s chair is playing out in the state BJP, which has a number of high-profile leaders. The BJP’s top leadership, too, is considering promoting fresh faces and looking beyond Chouhan to lead the party, said sources.

According to party insiders and political observers, the aspirants for the post include the following: Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya and Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

Union minister of state (MoS) Faggan Singh Kulaste and former BJP state president and MP Rakesh Singh are also important leaders with influence.

In 2021, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had taken a dig at the Madhya Pradesh BJP leadership, saying, “only two candidates are left in the race for chief minister in Madhya Pradesh. Modi ji’s candidate is Prahlad Patel and Sangh’s candidate is V.D. Sharma. I sympathise with the rest of the candidates.”

But now, the pool of contenders may have expanded.

Commenting on the apparent differences among party members, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai said, “We are unified in diversity, which is why we can have different voices. We are a democratic party, but we have only one candidate, which is the lotus (the BJP symbol), for whom we work and elect.”

Experts, meanwhile, say it’s not only the BJP that is facing factionalism in the state.

“In both parties, we have factions, it is not restricted to the BJP alone. Factions are there in the Congress too. Yes, they are more in the BJP, but the BJP’s persuasion power is also greater and they can ensure all of them work unitedly,” said political commentator Badri Narayan.

He added, “Karnataka (where the BJP lost to the Congress in assembly elections held earlier this year) was difficult for them. But having so many leaders also becomes your strength. The more the leaders, the more is the power — so one can view this from this perspective too, as it comes in handy during mobilisation. Everyone used to say there are many factions in Uttar Pradesh, but see how they performed.”

 looks at some purported rivals within the MP BJP.