Bhopal, Dec 13 (IANS): After taking oath as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, Mohan Yadav drove to Ujjain to offer prayers at Mahakaleshwar temple.

Yadav became the 19th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and fifth BJP leader to be sworn in for the top post.

The first four BJP chief ministers were: Sunderlal Patwa was the first BJP Chief Minister, followed by Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Of these, Chouhan served as chief minister for more than 16 years.

Yadav (58) -- a wrestler turned politician -- hails from Ujjain has won three consecutive assembly elections, including in 2023 from Ujjain South seats.

On Wednesday, the Chief Minister reached his home district with a convoy of supporters, where he was welcome by large number supporters and family members. The roads and highways of Ujjain city were decorated with saffron colors and posters/banners congratulating the Chief Minister.

Yadav, who served as Higher Education Minister in ex-CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s cabinet, has been associated with the RSS for a long time and he has been known as a proponent of Hindutva.

A PhD in political science, Yadav began his career from student politics when he started off as the co-secretary of the student union of Madhav Science College in 1982, becoming the president of the college in 1984.

He was the co-area in-charge of the RSS in Ujjain in 1993-95 and became its city in-charge in 1996. Subsequently, he also rose through the BJP Yuva Morcha in the state.