Shivraj Singh Chouhan


Shivraj Singh Chouhan often referred to as Mama He previously served as the Chief Minister of the Madhya Pradesh, between 2005 and 2018, and holds the record as the state's longest serving Chief Minister. He is currently also serving as a National Vice-President and a member of the Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
As a leader of the BJP, Chouhan served as its general secretary and president of its Madhya Pradesh state unit. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1972, as a 13-year-old. He is a five-time Member of Parliament, having represented Vidisha in the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament, between 1991 and 2006.
He is known for launching schemes like "Ladli Lakshmi Yojana", "Beti Bachao Abhiyan" etc.

Early life and education

Shivraj Singh Chouhan was born in the family of Prem Singh Chouhan and his wife Sundar Bai Chouhan in the Jait village of Sehore district. He belongs to Kirar community, he is a gold medalist in M. A. from Barkatullah University. He is an agriculturist by profession.

Early political career

His early political career can be defined as up to the point of his first election to the Lok Sabha. He was elected President of the Model School Students Union in 1975. From 1976 to 1977, he participated in underground movement against the Emergency and was imprisoned in Bhopal Jail for some time.
In his early political career, he has also been:
Chouhan was first elected to the State Assembly from Budhni Constituency in 1990. He was elected a Member of Parliament for the first time in his career in 10th Lok Sabha from Vidisha Constituency in the following year.
In 1996, he was re-elected to the 11th Lok Sabha. He was Member of Committee on Urban and Rural Development and Member of Consultative Committee, Ministry of Human Resources Development and Member of Committee on Urban and Rural Development from 1996 to 1997 and Member of Committee on Urban and Rural Development, General Secretary of BJP, Madhya Pradesh from 1997 to 1998.
Again in 1998, he was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha. He was Member of Committee on Urban and Rural Development and its Sub-Committee on Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment from 1998 to 1999.
His fourth term in the 13th Lok Sabha was from 1999. He was member of Committee on Agriculture from 1999 to 2000, member of Committee on Public Undertakings from 1999 to 2001, and National President of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha from 2000 to 2003. He was also the Chairman of House Committee and National Secretary of Bhartiya Janta Party.
The BJP swept Madhya Pradesh in the Assembly elections of December 2003. At that time, Shivraj Singh contested polls unsuccessfully against the incumbent Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh from Raghogarh.
He was a member of Consultative Committee, ministry of Communications from 2000 to 2004. He was re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha in 2004, with a margin of over 260,000 votes. He was member of Committee on Agriculture, member of Joint Committee on Offices of Profit, National General Secretary of BJP, Secretary of Parliamentary Board, and Secretary. He also headed Housing Committee of Lok Sabha, and member of Committee on Ethics.

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh

As the state BJP President, Chouhan was chosen to become the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 30 November 2005. He contested a by-election from Budhni assembly constituency the following year, winning his old seat by a margin of over 36,000 votes.
In 2008, Chouhan retained his Budhni seat by over 41,000 votes, and with it, led the BJP to a second consecutive victory in the state. On 12 December 2008, he was sworn in for his second term.
On 8 December 2013, Chouhan won Legislative Assembly elections from Budhni. He was also elected as Chief Minister of MP for a third term.
On 12 December 2018, after failing to gain a majority in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh assembly election, Chouhan resigned as Chief Minister.He once again took oath as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 23 March 2020 after 22 Congress MLA's resigned along with Jyotiraditya Scindia resulting in the collapse of the Kamal Nath government.
On 25th July 2020 he was tested positive for Covid-19. He became the first Chief Minister of an Indian state to test positive for the COVID-19.

Awards and recognition

Chouhan has been conferred with the following awards, among other:
2011-12: Krishi Karman award for achieving highest production of wheat in the year 2011-12.
2011: Indian of the year award by NDTV
2012: United Nations Public Service Award for Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act
2016: The incumbent chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan was conferred with SuryodayManavtaSevaSanman.