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They said the government was ignoring their experience and assessments of political and administrative issues.

Senior BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh conveyed a series of complaints about Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s functioning to newly appointed BJP national general secretary and Madhya Pradesh in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb during his maiden visit to Bhopal on 30 September and 1 October. The complaints concerned the treatment of senior leaders, the government’s failure to adequately consider their inputs, governance and allegations of corruption, according to party leaders and sources in Bhopal.

A key grievance raised during Deb’s visit was that senior leaders who have spent considerably more time in the BJP and held senior positions before Yadav became Chief Minister feel that they are not being given the expected respect. They also complained that their experience, inputs and assessments of political and administrative issues were not being adequately considered by the government.

Response sought by this newspaper from Deb over the feedback he received during his visit, received no response till the time the story went to print.

Several leaders expressed the view that they were being deliberately sidelined, sources said. They questioned how they were expected to justify the government’s functioning to party workers and voters when their own assessments and suggestions were not being heard. The leaders’ concern was that their standing and experience within the party had not translated into a meaningful role in the government’s decision-making, even as they continued to remain answerable to workers and voters in their respective areas.

Sources said complaints were also raised over governance and alleged corruption in the state government. These formed part of the feedback conveyed to Deb about the functioning of the government under Yadav.

Deb, the former Tripura Chief Minister, arrived in Bhopal on 30 September for his first visit to Madhya Pradesh after being appointed the state BJP in-charge. During the two-day visit, he held individual meetings with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal, Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, and senior ministers Kailash Vijayvargiya, Prahlad Patel and Rakesh Singh to understand the functioning of the government and the party organisation.

Deb also attended a meeting of the BJP’s state core group on 30 September. The meeting brought together senior leaders, including Yadav, Union minister and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vijayvargiya, Patel, Singh, Khandelwal and former state BJP president V.D. Sharma. Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was reported to be absent.

During the visit, Deb also met Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar and senior BJP leader and former governor Kaptan Singh Solanki separately. His programme included interactions with party office-bearers and organisational functionaries.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, Deb took note of the complaints and subsequently forwarded the feedback to the party leadership. The concerns included the treatment of senior leaders by the Chief Minister, the government’s receptiveness to their inputs, governance and allegations of corruption.

The complaints have brought the relationship between the state government and the BJP organisation into focus, with senior leaders expressing concern over how their perceived marginalisation could affect their ability to maintain their connect with party workers and voters.