Not in race for the opposition leader post in MP: Chouhan

TIGHT-LIPPED Party officials say the Leader of Opposition will be named in next few days

BHOPAL: Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday that he was not in the race for the post of Leader of the Opposition in Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress ended the 15-year reign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recent assembly elections.

Chouhan, an other backward classes (OBC) leader, also said he would make all efforts to ensure the BJP’S win in the maximum number of seats possible in the Lok Sabha elections this year.

“I am not in any race for Leader of Opposition post,” Chouhan, who has so far indicated that he will be active in state politics, said in Bhopal. The three-time CM was in Delhi on Thursday to take part in a meeting of the BJP’S parliamentary board, the highest decision-making body in the party.

In Madhya Pradesh, which sends 29 MPS to the Lok Sabha, the Congress won 114 of the 230 assembly seats. In a closely fought contest, the BJP won 109 seats as no party managed to reach the majority mark. The Congress formed a government with the help of other parties.

The BJP has appointed home minister Rajnath Singh and state BJP affairs-in-charge Vinay Sahasrabuddhe as observers to oversee the selection of Leader of the Opposition in MP, where the assembly session begins on Janu-

ary 7. Highlighting the importance of the Leader of the Opposition in the state after last month’s assembly verdict, political observer Bhagwandev Israni said: “... The Congress doesn’t enjoy a comfortable majority in the state assembly... in such a situation, the BJP needs a leader who can continue to exert pressure on the ruling party.”

Party functionaries, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the LOP will be selected in the next few days. Speculation is rife that the BJP may choose an upper caste leader to counter perceived resentment in the aftermath of the cabinet approving a bill to restore key provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which the Supreme Court had diluted in March 2017. “The party will elect its leader as per process laid down and it will be a smooth affair,” BJP Mlaarvind Bhadoria said.