MP polls: Shivraj meditates at Uttarakhand before hitting campaign trail

Bhopal: A day after the weeklong suspense over his candidature in the November 17 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh ended with his re-nomination from Budhni seat by BJP, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was on Tuesday seen engrossed in meditation right on the bank of Ganga at an undisclosed scenic site in Uttarakhand.

Mr Chouhan on Tuesday shared a video in his X account showing him quietly meditating over a boulder with river Ganga flowing below at an isolated location in Uttarakhand.

“Mother Ganga is the sacred flow of Indian culture; this culture will lead the universal humanity, currently caught in the fire of materialism, to the path of eternal peace”, a post in Hindi by him in his X handle said.

Mr Chouhan told the media before going on the spiritual detour to Uttarakhand hills that he was leaving for Haridwar and Rishikesh. He would return to Madhya Pradesh on Thursday and hit the campaign trail with full force.

Mr Chouhan had earlier triggered speculation over his candidature in the forthcoming assembly elections when he went around the state asking the people at different functions if they wanted him to contest in the polls and if they wanted him to become chief minister again.

The suspense over his re-nomination in his assembly constituency of Budhni ended on Monday when BJP released its fourth list of 57 candidates in which Mr Chouhan figured.

“I am grateful to the Central party leadership (for the release of the candidates’ list). The candidates’ list was as per the recommendations (of candidates) of the state (BJP)”, he said.

Mr Chouhan took a jibe at Congress for not being able to come out with even the first list of its candidates so far, saying that “BJP has already announced candidates in 136 out of total 230 assembly seats in the state. But, where is the Congress list? Selection of candidates by Congress is hit by intense bickering in the party”.