Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigns as MLA from Budhni

Bhopal, June 18: Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan resigned from his position as the MLA from Budhni, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday.

Chouhan, the former four-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, stepped down after his recent induction into the Union Cabinet as the Agriculture Minister following his victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha.

In a heartfelt video message after his resignation, Chouhan said, "Today, I am very emotional because I have resigned as the MLA from Budhni, which gave me everything in life. The people of Budhni are very close to my heart, and this relationship will remain until my last breath."

Chouhan made his electoral debut in 1990, winning the Assembly elections from his hometown Budhni in Sehor district. A year later, he contested a bypoll after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee vacated the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat, defeating Congress' Pratap Bhanu Sharma by over 1 lakh votes. He retained the seat for four consecutive terms from 1996 to 2004.

Returning to state elections, Chouhan won the Assembly polls from Budhni in 2006, 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023. In 2005, he replaced veteran BJP leader Babulal Gaur as Chief Minister, a position he held until 2018. Under his leadership, the BJP won the Assembly elections in 2008 and 2013 before losing to the Congress in 2018.

However, the Congress government did not last long, as a faction led by Jyotiraditya Scindia and 22 loyalist MLAs shifted to the BJP in March 2020, allowing Chouhan to return as Chief Minister for a fourth term. The BJP swept the Assembly elections in 2023 despite high incumbency, but Chouhan was replaced by Mohan Yadav as the new Chief Minister on December 3 last year.