Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan likely to be sworn in as Chief Minister today

Bhopal, Mar 23: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on Monday 9 pm at Raj Bhavan in Bhopal.

Chouhan will script history when he takes oath as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for a fourth term. He will be the first person to become the chief minister of the state for a fourth term.

However, the oath taking ceremony is likely to be a very low key affair at , in the wake of the deadly COVID-19. Bhopal is among nine districts in Madhya Pradesh which are under complete lockdown till March 31 due to the pandemic scare.

The BJP has not yet staked claim to form the government in Madhya Pradesh, three days after Congress' CM Kamal Nath resigned following rebellion by 22 of the party MLAs including six ministers.

BJP leaders said three time chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the frontrunner though names of former state minister Narottam Mishra, who played a key role in dislodging the Nath government, and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar are also doing the rounds.

BJP leaders said the party needs to choose a leader and stake claim quickly as the state urgently requires a functional government in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Nath government fell after 22 Congress MLAs quit the Assembly and later joined the BJP.