It's BJP versus its own government in Madhya Pradesh as party tries to set house in order
Tensions between a group of BJP MLAs and the party-led Madhya Pradesh government are flaring up, with the legislators publicly criticising the state administration over local issues.
Over the past few days, MLAs Preetam Lodhi (Pichhore), Vijaypal Singh (Sohagpur), and Pradeep Patel (Mauganj) have come out against the government on various issues.
The legislators' protests come at a time when the state BJP is undergoing an internal churn as a part of the party's process to pick its new national president. This is barely six months after the November 2024 bypolls in which the BJP retained Budhni but lost Vijaypur to the Congress. 'This has also added pressure on Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to ensure unity within the state unit,' said a senior BJP functionary.
Trouble started on Saturday after Lodhi, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the state government, targeted a minister at a public meeting in Shivpuri district. 'A lazy minister has come, and due to his arrival, the lights of Congressmen have been turned on. If the work of our workers and the public is not done, I will get their tap connections and roads cut,' he said.
Apart from police reforms, Lodhi has renewed his demand for Pichhore to be declared a separate district, a promise that he claims former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had made. According to the MLA, multiple meetings with Yadav have yielded no results on either demand.
'The CM has personally assured me that the problems will be solved. As far as the local Superintendent of Police (SP) is concerned, I have not yet spoken to him about the issues between the police and our leaders. We all have been invited to the Cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss the issues affecting BJP MLAs and the local administration,' Lodhi told The Indian Express.
The BJP was also left red-faced in Narmadapuram after Vijaypal Singh blocked traffic for several hours on April 24 to demand the construction of an approach road to link rural areas to the newly built Betul Marg from Obaidullaganj. The absence of the road has left several villages disconnected, fuelling local discontent. Singh called off the protest after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Denying any tension with the police, Singh said the CM had personally called him and assured him that his demands would be fulfilled. 'I hope the administration now listens to the leaders,' he said.
In Mauganj, differences between Pradeep Patel and the police played out at a police station in Nai Gadhi on April 25, where the MLA courted arrest, claiming threats from the local police. He also staged a six-hour protest over his long-standing tensions with the police. Patel and the police have had run-ins over sensitive communal issues, with the MLA alleging that the police did not take action in one such case.
'I do not know why the police wanted to file a case against me. I have spoken to the CM on the issue. Hopefully, the message has been delivered to the police. It was a matter of forced religious conversion and the thana in-charge was suspended based on my complaint. Now, he has been made the thana in-charge of Nai Gadhi police station and hence he wants my arrest,' he said.
Directive to the police
The state police, seemingly in a bid to placate the BJP leaders, issued a directive on April 24 mandating its personnel in uniform to salute MPs and MLAs at government functions and general meetings.
The Congress targeted the government over the directive, with state Congress president Jitu Patwari claiming that it amounted to 'an insult to the police uniform'. The CM defended the directive, saying it was 'tradition and rule' to give due respect to public representatives.
The directive is among the several measures, including personal calls and hush-hush meetings with party bigwigs, that the CM is taking to ensure that the party's MLAs and MPs do not raise the banner of rebellion.
According to a senior BJP leader, the issue of lack of unity in the party is not confined to just the three MLAs.
'Many office-bearers in municipal corporations have also been at the receiving end of the ire of local party leaders. In Sagar, the Mayor formed the Council without informing the state leadership, for which the party has issued a notice to him. The Dewas Mayor also did not take permission from the party for implementing changes in the Mayor-in-Council and has also fought with the local MP. In Bina, the Nagar Palika Chairperson's negligence in appointment has led to a section of BJP leaders becoming upset,' the leader said.
Claiming that there was 'no place for indiscipline in the party', state BJP president V D Sharma tried to address the issue on Saturday. 'There will be no tolerance, no matter who they are. This is the BJP. There is no question of indiscipline in the party. We have had discussions on this. Sometimes, these things happen,' he said.
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