Flying kisses and I love yous are Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s new campaign arsenal

With barely ten days left for polling in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, perhaps facing his toughest electoral battle in three terms, has been on the campaign trail 18 hours a day.

He has some new weapons he’s testing in these elections. The MP CM, who otherwise is a picture of sobriety in perpetuity, obliges his young fans with flying kisses and often responds to ‘love yous’ with, ‘I love you too’.

As his chopper touched down at Ratangarh in Neemuch in the western most corners of the state, Chouhan reached out to the crowd, a substantial part of which comprises of the youth. After carrying a baby and throwing garlands at kids, he headed off to a public meeting where he told the youth that he would always be there for his bhanjas and bhanjis.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan is fondly called ‘mama’ or maternal uncle across the state. Once he was back in the chopper, Chouhan waved back at the crowd saying, “My bhanjas often send flying kisses and say I love you. I send flying kisses back and tell them I love them too.” Clearly, Chouhan understands the need to respond to the youth in their own language.

Between a home cooked lunch on the chopper, served by his security detail, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he has no doubt that he is winning the elections.

“I can read people’s reactions, and they love me,” he said. When asked if his popularity would be able to contain the unpopularity of some of his MLAs, Chouhan replied that the party denied tickets to 53 sitting MLAs out of 166. Those who were not denied tickets are the BJP’s best bets in their seats.

Lunch is usually vegetables, dal and roti. “My wife plans my meals. I like vegetables like baingan, parwal, lauki made with gravy,” he said adding that he was fond of cooking as a student but now he doesn’t get time to do it anymore.

Tea is served regularly to the Chief Minister by his staff. It helps soothe his throat apart from an ayurvedic concoction that is given to him for the same purpose. He feels it’s essential to keep the vocal cords going for as many as eight public meetings a day.

Hand sanitizers are used frequently to ensure viral infections in the air are kept at bay as he shakes hands with the electorate which can number in the thousands.

Whenever the flying time exceeds 40 minutes, the Chief Minister manages to get some shut eye in between.

The BJP has strategized cornering the Congress and its leadership around certain key issues, many of which the Congress has managed to thwart.

For one, the BJP planned Digvijaya Singh was its prime target and the party was to talk about the lack of roads and electricity during the Congress rule.

The second target was Jyotiraditya Scindia who would be criticized as the maharaja who takes on the kisan putra.

However, both these attacks have been blunted given that the Congress has kept Digvijaya Singh out of the campaign and has not announced a CM candidate either.

Nonetheless, at public meetings Chouhan ploughs on. He has found a Congress television campaign that talks about people being angry with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as a point to rally around.

“I know why the Congress says gussa aata hai. Congress ko gussa aata hai because Shivraj Singh Chouhan has improved roads, electricity and water supply. I have waived electricity bills of the poor, I have given bonus to farmers and got girls married. The raja, maharaja and udyogpati are unhappy that the chair has evaded them,” he says at all public meeting across the state.

In a bid to counter anti incumbency against the local MLA, Shivraj said, “Do not waste your vote on the Congress or on independents. Unless you vote for the local BJP MLA candidate, Shivraj will not become CM and if that does not happen, MP will not become a prosperous state,” he said at Ratangarh in Jawad constituency.

Even though the public meetings have a good turnout, there were no adverse signs wherever he went. It seemed Shivraj Singh Chouhan was pushing himself in the campaign. Chouhan has always been like the student who has never laxed around an exam.

He starts studying at the right time and maintains the tempo till the exam date. He is presently in the crunch overs of the match, giving it his all, even telling the pilot of his chopper that he has to fly faster to get him to attend every public meeting.

Though the BJP is said to be a cadre-based party, he is alone, and the campaign rests on him and is designed around him.

On the other side is the Congress, 15 years out of power, divided, yet looking keen to make a comeback.

The fund situation looks better than before in the Congress, the social media campaign is being run better and for once the BJP is at the receiving end of surprises in the form of defections or crossing overs, something Chouhan is aware of too.

At every public meeting, people throng to meet Chouhan, throw garlands at him and line up along roads to wave at him. He waves back, rushes into crowds throwing his chief of security headed by SP Manu Vyas in a tizzy.

The feeling of being loved by people, of the connect that is evidently there, can be very heady, even often obfuscating the picture.

With both the BJP and Congress assured of a victory this time round, this obfuscation has gotten the better of one of them. We will soon know the victim.