MP Assembly Polls: Bad fiscal math, farm unrest are Chouhan's bigger demons

15 years of anti-incumbency is just one challenge; attempts to assuage agitating farmers has not only botched up state finances but has also not given the CM an image makeover among rural masses

Long considered the quiet backroom boy of Indian politics, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan probably faces the toughest battle of his political career when the state goes to polls in the next few months.

An anti-incumbency of 15 years is just one of the many challenges he faces.

A struggling state economy

The state’s economy has barely kept pace with the national economy during Chouhan’s current tenure, with agriculture actually contracting in three of the last five years, leading to rural unrest.

Money diverted to assuage this growing unrest in rural areas has come at the expense of capital expenditure and a