![Mohan Yadav is being greeted by former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other BJP leaders after he was elected the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh [Image source: X/ANI]](https://img.theweek.in/content/dam/week/news/india/images/2023/12/11/mohan-yadav-cm-ani.jpg "Mohan Yadav is being greeted by former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other BJP leaders after he was elected the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh [Image source: X/ANI]")
In a surprise move, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday elected former education minister and three-time MLA Mohan Yadav the new chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, spelling the end of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan era in the state.
Yadav will have two deputies—Jagdisgh Devda and Rajesh Shukla.
Narendra Tomar, who quit the Union cabinet after winning the state elections, will be the Assembly Speaker.
"I am a small worker of the party. I thank all of you, the state leadership and the central leadership. With your love and support, I will try to fulfil my responsibilities,” Yadav said.
The 58-year-old OBC leader is a three-time MLA from Ujjain Dakshin. In July 2020, he took oath as the higher education minister in the then Shivraj cabinet.
Earlier, three central observers—Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha head K. Laxman and secretary Asha Lakra—reached Bhopal and interacted with party MLAs and core committee members.
At the meeting, BJP state president V.D. Sharma said, Chouhan proposed the name of Yadav as the new leader of the legislative party and all other senior leaders supported the proposal.
The names of Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Kailash Vijaywargiya are also doing rounds for the post of chief minister.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in MP following the November 17 polls, winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly, leaving the Congress a distant second with 66 seats.
