By Praveen Dwivedi
Bhopal, April 15 (IANS) The second-most influential cabinet minister in Madhya Pradesh – Narottam Mishra, who is known for making headlines with his controversial remarks especially on issues related “Bollywood” and “Hindutva”, seems have made some alteration in his political stances from the last couple of months. Sources told IANS that Mishra is getting ready to play a new role in the state BJP unit ahead of the Assembly elections due for November 2023.
Mishra, who is celebrating his sixty-third birthday on Saturday, is likely to be assigned a key position in the state unit of the party by the central leadership.
Six-term member of the state Assembly from the Datia district and fourth-term cabinet minister, Mishra began his political career in 1977-1978 with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Bharatiya Jana Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Currently, he holds several important portfolios including Home, Law and the Parliamentary Affairs in the state cabinet. He became the cabinet minister for the first time under former Chief Minister Babulal Gaur in 2005.
“The central leadership of the BJP is planning to assign a bigger role to Narottam Mishra in the party. A team of four BJP’s sangathan (organisation) has been tasked to conduct a survey regarding the popularity and acceptance of BJP leaders across Madhya Pradesh. Once the survey is completed, a big change is likely to be witnessed in the the state BJP unit in next couple of months and there is no surprise if Mishra to be given a key role to play in the Assembly elections as he is a popular Brahmin leader in the state…,” a party source told IANS.
Mishra’s rise to prominence has successfully established his image as an important leader in the eyes of the party high command during the last few years, not just in Madhya Pradesh but also in the national politics. For instance, under the leadership of former national BJP President and current Home Minister, Amit Shah, he was made in-charge of the Kanpur Lok Sabha seat in 2019, keeping in mind the number of Brahmin votes in the region.
Besides a popular Hindutva face, Mishra also has a good reputation among Muslims in the state. In the last few years, more specifically when the BJP formed the government in state in 2020, his statements became a regular headline in the national media. Now, with elections just six months away, he seems to have made some alteration in his political stance, especially among the minority community. For instance, recently he organised a mega ‘Roza Iftar’ in Datia and a large number of Muslim people attended the event.
Mishra played a pivotal role in toppling the Kamal Nath government in 2020, through “Operation Kamal”, and this is also one of the reasons, the state Congress unit consider him as a bigger political enemy than Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Born on April 15, 1960 in Gwalior, he is fondly addressed as “dada”. And, how he earned this title, he made disclosure about it recently while addressing a gathering of people in his home town.
“Years back, when I came to Datia for the first time, locals were complaining about the water problem, but I learnt that there was one more problem, and that was more serious. Datia was famous for gangsters. Gang wars used to happen like in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. But, when the people of Datia elected me as an MLA for the first time, I remember that, I had made a statement that from today – there is only one ‘dada’ in Datia, and I started taking strict action against those gangsters. Perhaps since then people of Datia started addressing me affectionately as dada,” Mishra replied when he was asked by someone in the crowd how he earned the title.
–IANS
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