Political tensions have risen in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh as former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti expressed her disappointment for not being invited to the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra in the state. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), she made it clear that she would decline any invitation to join the Yatra, even if extended to her at this point.
“I did not receive an invitation in the beginning of Jan Ashirwad Yatra, it is true that I have said so, but whether I receive an invitation or not, I do not become more or less. Yes, now if I am invited, I will not go anywhere. Neither in the beginning nor in the closing ceremony on 25th September. @BJP4MP,” Uma Bharti stated on X.
The BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra commenced on Sunday from Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh. Prominent party leaders, including BJP’s national president JP Nadda and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, led the Yatra. Uma Bharti’s absence from the invitation list has raised eyebrows and hinted at potential tensions within the Madhya Pradesh BJP.
Uma Bharti has been a senior leader within the party, and her exclusion from the Yatra invitation list comes after she made critical remarks about BJP ministers in the state government over the past few months.
Despite not being invited to the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Uma Bharti reiterated her support for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. She affirmed her willingness to campaign wherever the Chief Minister deems necessary.
“The bond of respect towards Shivraj ji in my mind and affection towards me in his mind is unbreakable and strong. Whenever and wherever Shivraj ji asks me to campaign, I can campaign by obeying him and respecting him,” Uma Bharti stated in another X post.
These developments reveal rifts within the Madhya Pradesh BJP ahead of the crucial assembly elections. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is grappling with intense anti-incumbency and has announced various sops in the run-up to the elections. The political landscape in Madhya Pradesh is expected to become increasingly dynamic as the election season unfolds.
