Tomar was appointed as the party president with the solid support from Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Therefore, he is regarded as a nominee of Chauhan. It is significant that without waiting for formal reaction from Chauhan, Tomar unilaterally came out with a forthright statement that he was prepared to welcome Narendra Modi as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate. Talking to the media, Narendra Singh Tomar said 'The party will accept Narendra Modi as Prime Ministerial if the BJP leadership takes a decision and makes a declaration in this regard.'

Tomar's statement makes it clear that Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP has dumped Advani. And this statement was not the only evidence of it. Advani did not figure in the posters which were put up at the venue of the meeting of Presidents and general secretaries of the district units of the party. It may be mentioned here that Advani used to be given great respect in Madhya Pradesh, especially by the chief Minister himself. Chauhan used to invite Advani as chief guest at important programmes of the state government. Advani would reciprocate the gesture by showering sky-high praises on Chauhan. At a recent function in Gwalior, Advani described Chauhan as a better and more successful Chief Minister than Narendra Modi. Advani said Modi presided over the destiny of Gujarat, which was already a developed state. But Chauhan pulled out Madhya Pradesh from the category of 'BIMARU' states. This feat itself showed that Chauhan's achievement was more praiseworthy then Narendra Modi's. The day Modi was named as the chairman of the BJP campaign committee, there was hardly any celebration in the state. Even the state office of Bhopal wore a deserted look. This fact was widely reported in the media.

Tomar's stand indicates that there is a change in the attitude of a powerful section of the state BJP. Significant support to Modi came from the party president and not from the Chief Minister. Does it mean that there are differences between the Chief Minister and organisational Chief vis a vis Narendra Modi?

On the day when Narendra Singh Tomar declared support to Narendra Modi, Babulal Gaur, senior most member of the Chauhan Ministry and also a former Chief Minister, compared Narendra Modi with Sardar Patel. It is widely known that Gaur's relations with Chauhan are not cordial. Thus, Gaur's decision to shower undiluted praise on Modi appears to be an attempt to chide Chauhan. In an interview with a local English daily, Gaur said, 'Narendra Modi is like iron man Sardar Patel - strong, determined and smart. He is a strong leader who knows how to tackle things. It is evident from the fact that there has been not been any terror attack in Gujarat in recent years'. He was also asked 'These days Narendra Modi is being pitted against Shivraj Singh, what doyou have to say about it?' His reply was, 'I won't comment on this issue. I feel different people have different personalities and styles of working. Why two different persons should be pitted against each other?' A day before Tomar came out with categorical support for Modi, Arvind Menon, organisational secretary of the party tried to play a balancing role. He coined a new slogan for the party 'Om Namo-Shivay', which he thought shall pave the way for the third consecutive victory of the party in the elections to the state Vidhan Sabha. Menon explained, 'Om' means an activist of the party, 'Namo' means Narendra Modi and 'Shivay' means Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Repeat this 'Mantra' and victory will be in your lap, he declared. Menon's statement was greeted by the partymen present at the meeting hall of the sate headquarters of the party. Menon coined this slogan in the presence of the Chief Minister.

While Menon's slogan placed Modi and Chauhan on equal footing, the latest issue of 'Kamal Sandesh' the official organ of the state Bharatiya Janata Party openly supported Modi. The 'Kamal Sandesh' is edited by Prabhat Jha, former president of the Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party. Jha, presently, is one of the national vice-presidents of the Bhartiya Janata Party. The 'Kamal Sandesh is all praise for Narendra Modi. The journal, while hailing the selection of Modi as the chief of the Party's campaign committee has chided the party leadership for its failure to declare party's Prime Ministers candidate. Tomar's unconditional support to Modi, Babulal Gaur describing him as the new avatar of party and Prabhat Jha hailing the selection of Narendra Modi as the chief of the party's campaign committee, may, on the face of it, look unconnected events but it can be safety stated that all the three are trying to belittle the importance of Chauhan.

Meanwhile, another recent development seems to have become a cause for concern for Shivraj Chauhan. The rousing receptions which Uma Bharati is getting at various places of the state do not augur well for Chauhan. The other day, she was weighed against one rupee coins at a place which is very near to Bhopal. This particular programme was attended by Babulal Gaur, an arch rival of Uma Bharati. Not only Gaur attended this programme he showered praises on her. His compliments were also returned by Uma Bharati.

Besides Babulal Gaur, another former chief minister and BJP Lok Sabha member Kailash Joshi, local MLA Jitendra Daga and many other local leaders also attended the programme.

Those in the know say that there are clear indications that a joint front is being opened against Chauhan to undermine and his influence and authority with a view to preventing him from becoming the chief minister of the state for the third time. So far, no leader—whether of the Congress or the BJP- has succeeded in becoming the chief minister of the state for a third time.(IPA Service)