After success of ‘Bulldozer Baba’ in UP, ‘Bulldozer Mama’ rolls into MP politics

The term “Bulldozer Mama” made its appearance earlier this week when BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma placed a row of bulldozers outside his government bungalow in Bhopal along with a hoarding that read, “Beti ki suraksha mein jo banega rora, mama ka bulldozer banega hathora (Uncle CM’s bulldozer will hammer those who impede the security of our daughters).”

The hoarding was put up after the district administrations in Sheopur, Seoni, and Shahdol razed the houses of three rape-accused, and, on March 18, Raisen district officials demolished the allegedly illegal homes and shops of some Muslims named in an FIR filed following their clash with some Adivasis.

On March 23, as the BJP government completed two years in power, Chouhan visited Sharma’s home and was greeted with chants of “Bulldozer Mama (uncle) Zindabad”. The CM seemed to relish the sobriquet and later thanked the MLA in a tweet, saying, “Uncle’s bulldozer has always worked. It won’t stop till all criminals are swept away. We won’t spare anti-social elements.”

State BJP president VD Sharma told The Indian Express, “The state under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan has always dealt with criminals with an iron fist and he will continue to do so.”

Although Chouhan’s supporters deny that Madhya Pradesh is following in the footsteps of its neighbouring state, several times in the past Madhya Pradesh has adopted laws and policies first enacted in UP — from the Freedom to Religion Act, 2021, to the Property Recovery Act; an MP Anti-Gangster Bill has been proposed on the lines of the UP Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act.

Some senior BJP officials, meanwhile, pointed out that law and order had never been as much a challenge in Madhya Pradesh as in UP. “It is not right to draw parallels between UP and MP as they are very different places. Unlike UP, MP does not have the same challenge in terms of law and order. Besides, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has his own image as a leader who has led the state for the past 15 years and is fondly known as ‘mama’,” said one party functionary.

Despite statements to the contrary, the BJP government’s emphasis on a tough approach to dealing with law-and-order issues is apparent and, in fact, is in line with the previous Kamal Nath-led Congress government’s policies. When the Congress returned to power in December 2018, ending the BJP’s 15-year rule, it started the “Shuddh ke liye yuddh (war for purity)” as part of which the authorities demolished the properties of those found guilty of indulging in adulteration. Several of them were booked under the National Security Act (NSA) and even externed.

In December 2020, months after coming to power for his fourth term, Chouhan issued a warning to the land mafia while addressing an event in Babai in Narmadapuram district. “Sun lo re, Madhya Pradesh chhod dena nahin to jameen mein gaad dunga dus feet, kahin pata nahi chalega (Listen up land mafia, leave Madhya Pradesh or I will bury you 10 feet in the ground and no one will ever know).”

Between April 1, 2020, and February 28 the BJP government booked 2,450 people in 753 cases. The government also booked 339 people under the National Security Act and externed 498 under a Gunda Abhiyan.