One CM, two deputy CMs, the inside story of this model of BJP

New Delhi: After a great performance in the Odisha assembly elections, the new government led by BJP has taken power. Mohan Charan Majhi has become the new Chief Minister of Odisha. Two deputy CMs have also been appointed along with him/her. KV Singh Deo and Parvati Parida have been given the responsibility of Deputy Chief Minister. This is not the first time that BJP has appointed two deputy CMs along with the CM in a state. Earlier, after winning the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan assembly elections, BJP had implemented the formula of two deputy CMs. Why has BJP adopted the model of two deputy CMs along with the Chief Minister in big states, know the inside story.

That’s why BJP adopted the two deputy CM model!

BJP has adopted this formula for collective leadership in states. Especially in big states, two deputy CMs have been appointed along with the Chief Minister. This move has helped BJP to better balance the caste equations in each state. Odisha has become the fourth big state in a row to adopt this strategy. BJP first started this model in Uttar Pradesh, but made it a pattern for big states after the assembly elections held late last year. At that time BJP won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In all these states, the Chief Minister and two deputies were from different castes and were not seen as clear choices during the elections. The party established three dimensions of power through this move.

Mohan Majhi became the new Chief Minister of Odisha, Governor Raghuvar Das administered the oath, know the big updates

There is no two deputy CM formula in Gujarat

However, Gujarat is definitely an exception in this list. BJP’s model of two deputy CMs in big states has not been implemented here. This formula was not adopted in Gujarat, which is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP chose this model in Uttar Pradesh after registering a bumper victory in 2017, when it appointed Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister and Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma as his/her deputies to balance the caste equations in the state with 80 Lok Sabha seats.

For the first time in 2017, BJP made two deputy CMs

Adityanath’s appointment was also linked to his/her role as the head of the Gorakhpur Math. The party hoped that he/she would focus on Hindutva politics in UP. In the Modi-Shah era, barring a few, the CMs appointed could not succeed in keeping the party in power. Subsequently, most of them were ousted from state politics, including the CMs of Jharkhand, Tripura and Haryana.

BJP increased focus in the states

In Gujarat and Uttarakhand, CMs were changed twice during the same tenure. Haryana’s Manohar Lal was recently made the Union Power Minister even before the Haryana Assembly elections. Former Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das is currently the Governor of Odisha. Former Tripura CM Biplab Deb and former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat are now MPs. Shivraj Singh Chouhan in MP, Pramod Sawant in Goa and to some extent Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra have been such Chief Ministers during whose tenure the party performed well in the assembly elections after the completion of the term. But, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was not given a second term in MP.