Will rather die than seek something for myself: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bhopal: Outgoing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said he will "rather die" than asking something for himself from his party.

He will carry out whatever task the Bharatiya Janata Party gives him, said the four-term chief minister who would soon be replaced by Mohan Yadav following the party's resounding victory in the last month's assembly elections.

“I wanted to say humbly that I would rather die than go (to Delhi) and ask for something for myself, this is not what I do,” Chouhan told reporters here to a question.

Last week, amid suspense over who would be the next chief minister, Chouhan had said he would not go to Delhi while claiming that he had never been in the race for the top post in the state.

“When a person is self-centred, he thinks about himself. But the BJP is a mission, there is some work for every worker. I will do whatever work is assigned to me,” the 64-year-old leader said on Tuesday.

Expressing contentment over his stint in power, Chouhan further said he was fully confident that the new BJP government under Mohan Yadav's leadership will complete the ongoing works at a rapid pace.

"I will always support them,” he added.

The BJP formed a majority government in Madhya Pradesh with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and due to the hard work of party workers as well as the welfare schemes of the state government and Centre, especially the `Ladli Behna' Yojana, he said.

The Ladli Behna Yojana was a flagship scheme of the Chouhan government under which Rs 1,250 are given to the women from financially weaker sections every month.

The state achieved all-round development during the BJP rule, he said, citing improved condition of roads, power supply and agriculture growth among other things.

Women's empowerment and farmers' welfare have never been a means of getting votes for him, Chouhan said.

Meanwhile, a video that surfaced on social media showed a group of women who were visiting the chief minister's residence on Tuesday morning crying in Chouhan's presence.

Mohan Yadav is set to take oath as chief minister on Wednesday.