The destiny of Madhya Pradesh hangs in the balance as 230 seats are set for polling to determine the next Chief Minister of the state. While voters have already made their conscious and informed decisions on exercising their voting rights, here is an analytical examination drawing parallels between the Madhya Pradesh of 2002-03 under Congress’ Digvijay Singh and the governance under Shivraj Singh Chouhan from the BJP over the last two decades, except a brief period of Congress rule.
GSDP has grown by sixteen-fold while per capita income saw a ten-fold jump since 2003
According to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics MP, in the fiscal year 2003-04, the GSDP was recorded at Rs 85,530.48 crores, and the per capita income was approximately Rs 13,465. In contrast, this year’s budgetary analysis projects the GSDP to be around Rs 13,87,117 crores, with the per capita income for state residents rising to Rs 1,40,583 in 2023.
Notably, the state’s GSDP witnessed an impressive more than 16-fold surge, while the per capita income experienced a nearly ten-fold rise.
Moreover, Madhya Pradesh recorded an economic growth rate of approximately 16.43 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23, demonstrating resilience despite the challenges posed by the Covid situation. In the preceding fiscal year 2021-22, the growth rate was notable at around 18.02 percent. Similarly, the increase in economic growth rate has been in double-digit figures more often than not since 2003. In stark contrast, during the fiscal year 2002-03, the GSDP growth was negative, standing at (-) 4.01 percent and it fluctuated year-on-year basis indicating erratic government policies during then CM Digvijay Singh’s decade-long tenure.
The fiscal deficit for 2023-24 is targeted at Rs 55,708 crore (4% of GSDP) whereas it was around Rs.4062 crore in 2002-03 (5.29% of GSDP). In FY 2003-04 the gross debt was 33.71 percent of the GSDP which has come down to 30.4 percent in 2023-24. It is important to note that debt-to-GSDP has reduced despite capital expenditure soaring by 19-fold. It is estimated to be around Rs 54,056 crore in 2023-24 which was at around Rs. 2,838 crore in 2003-04.
Likewise, MP’s own tax revenue was merely Rs. 6,805 crore in the year 2002-03 which has seen nearly a 13-fold jump as it is estimated to be around Rs 86,500 crore in 2023-24
Similarly, indices like Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) which are indicators of health parameters of any state have shown considerable improvement. The state’s MMR was around 379, according to a survey done between 2001-2003. This saw a nearly 57% drop in 2019 itself. According to a special bulletin of the sample registration system on maternal deaths for 2017-19, the MMR for MP was around 163.
The state has made significant strides in reducing the infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births). From a high of around 82 in 2003, when it ranked among the worst in the country, the rate has nearly halved, reaching 43 in 2020.
Similarly, the agricultural growth rate of Madhya Pradesh was 3 percent in the year 2002 which has since seen a substantial increase to 19 percent in recent years. Additionally, the irrigation capacity has witnessed a remarkable increase of 585 percent, growing from 7 lakh 50 thousand hectares in 2003 to surpass 45 lakh hectares.
Likewise, the industrial growth rate, standing at a mere 0.61 percent in 2001-02, has now surged impressively to 24 percent.
Strikingly, Madhya Pradesh has won the “Krishi Karmanya Puraskar” for the 7th time in the year 2022 under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This award is given for the production of crops like wheat, paddy, pulses, millet, etc. The state has also received the “Best Performing State” award for the highest use of the Agricultural Fund.
Furthermore, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led state government has executed welfare schemes for street vendors, outpacing other states by disbursing loans exceeding 521 crores to approximately 5 lakh urban small businesses.
In addition to the Rs.6,000 received through the Central Government’s Kisan Samman Nidhi, the Madhya Pradesh government provides an annual payment of Rs.4,000 under the Kisan Kalyan Yojana. Consequently, the beneficiary farmers are receiving a total financial support of Rs.10,000 per year.
Notably, the transformative governance in Madhya Pradesh under Shivraj Singh Chouhan gains even more significance when considering the political landscape. Chouhan took charge as the Chief Minister on 30th November 2005, stepping into a role that witnessed prior changes, with Babulal Gaur replacing Uma Bharti initially. The BJP then entrusted Chouhan with the state’s leadership. His effective delivery and governance style enabled him to serve three consecutive terms until 2018. Despite narrowly missing out on forming a record-fourth consecutive government in the 2018 assembly elections, Chouhan returned to power on 23rd March 2020 and extended his record as the longest-serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Contrasting this with the decade-long tenure of Congress party’s Digvijay Singh from 1993 to 2003 reveals a stark difference. During Singh’s leadership, the state earned the infamous moniker of a ‘BIMARU’ state, an acronym for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh—regions lacking in key parameters of development and good governance. The term ‘Bimar’ or ‘Bimaru’ is colloquially used for an ailing person, highlighting the stark contrast between the trajectories of governance under different leaders in Madhya Pradesh.
Welfare Schemes and effective delivery
During his initial tenure, the Chief Minister who had come from the second rung of the party’s leadership executed their poll promises which were themed around “bijli (electricity), sadak (roads), and paani (water)” campaign. Through effective execution, he gained voters’ as well as party leaders’ trust to beat anti-incumbency twice and quell rebellion in the early part of his tenure.
For this, Chief Minister Chouhan has been laying particular focus on better execution of welfare schemes. In September, last year, he launched the Jan Seva Abhiyan to facilitate the enrolment of beneficiaries under two dozen schemes and to plug loopholes in their delivery.
With his low profile and benevolent image, the accessible CM delivering welfare schemes, particularly targeting women empowerment in the state, including the Ladli Laxmi Yojana and Kanyadaan Yojana, he earned the moniker ‘Mama’ and gained unassailable advances in the female voter base ensuring repeatability of the government.
For those unversed, the Ladli Laxmi Yojana was designed to instill positive perceptions about the girl child. This is a government-sponsored insurance scheme that allocates a substantial sum of Rs 1 lakh to the girl upon reaching the age of 21 years, provided that she did not get married before the legal age.
A similar welfare scheme for women includes a cash incentive scheme that encourages women to opt for hospital deliveries. This initiative led to a significant increase in hospital deliveries, soaring from 26 to 70 percent. These female-centric schemes reaped benefits in improving literacy rates and health parameters like MMR and IMR.
Against this backdrop, Madhya Pradesh’s transformative journey under CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has garnered acclaim both nationally and internationally. However, Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government inherited depleted coffers, a derailing economy, disarrayed governance, crumbling infrastructure, and an extensively neglected social sector. Despite these challenges, the state has risen to commendable heights, marking a remarkable transformation, and has shed its notorious ‘Bimaru’ tag.
