Shivraj Singh Chouhan Resigns as MLA from Budhni

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday resigned from his post as the MLA from Budhni, Madhya Pradesh.

Chauhan, the former four-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, resigned after he was inducted to the Union Cabinet recently as the Agriculture Minister following his victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha.

After resigning from the MLA's post, Chouhan said in a video message, "Today, I am very emotional because I have resigned as the MLA from Budhni, which gave me everything in life. 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 when he won the Assembly elections from his hometown Budhni in Sehor district.

One year later, Chouhan contested the bypoll after former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee vacated the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat, and defeated Congress' Pratap Bhanu Sharma by over 1 lakh votes.

He went on to retain the seat for four consecutive times, from 1996 to 2004.

Returning to state elections, Chouhan won the Assembly polls from Budhni in 2006, 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023.

In 2005, Chouhan replaced veteran BJP leader Babulal Gaur as the Chief Minister and remained in the chair till 2018 as the BJP won two Assembly elections - 2008 and 2013 - under his leadership, before losing to the Congress in 2018.

But the Congress government didn't last long as a faction led by Jyotiraditya Scindia and his 22 loyalist MLAs shifted to the BJP in March 2020, paving the way for Chouhan's return as the CM for a fourth term.

The BJP swept the Assembly elections in 2023 despite high incumbency, but Chouhan was replaced with Mohan Yadav as the new Chief Minister last year on December 3.