• By Unzila Sheikh
  • Mon, 11 Dec 2023 05:54 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

BJP on Monday announced newly elected MLAs Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla as the new Deputy Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh while Mohan Yadav was nominated as the new Chief Minister of the state. The decision was announced in the legislative party meeting held in Bhopal on Monday. The meeting was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha head K Laxman and Secretary Asha Lakra, among others.

Rajendra Shukla won the Rewa Assembly constituency for the fifth straight time in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh election by defeating Congress candidate Rajendra Sharma with a whopping margin of 21,339 votes.

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Who is Rajendra Shukla?

Rajendra Shukla, a Brahmin leader and five-time MLA from Rewa in the Vindh region, was born on August 3, 1964 in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa. Shukla holds a graduation degree in Civil Engineering from Government Engineering College Rewa. With politics in his blood, Shukla became the president of the Government Engineering College Student Union in 1986.

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Shukla made his way into politics by contesting in the 1998 assembly election, however, he lost the seat to INC candidate Pushparaj Singh by a margin of 1394 votes. Shukla won his first Aseembly election in 2003 from Rewa by defeating Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Lekhan Singh Patel with a margin of 56,208 votes. Maintaining his winner streak, Shukla emerged victorious in the 2008 and 2013 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. Shukla has also served under various ministries, including  forestry, biodiversity/biotechnology, mineral resources and law and legislative affairs.

Shukla retained his seat in 2008 by defeating Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Dr Abdul Mujib Khan Advocate with a margin of 26,110 votes. In 2013 he defeated Abhay Mishra in the Rewa constituency and became MLA for the third consecutive term. In 2018, Shukla secured victory for BJP, amassing a total of 61,502 votes. BSP candidate, Krishna Kumar Gupta, trailed with 23,956 votes.