For his first journey to hometown Bhopal after his big-ticket appointment as Union minister for agriculture & farmers welfare and rural development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday chose an eight-hour train ride.

He had to be trying to make a point.

Chouhan had last winter been unceremoniously dumped by Narendra Modi-Amit Shah as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh — the “heart of India” that he had ruled from 2005 to 2023 with just a 15-month interruption in 2018-19.

And the pictures of his journey on the 12002 New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express that he posted on his X handle on Sunday left no one in any doubt about what he was seeking to underline.

The pictures showed Chouhan holding an infant, greeting passengers, and generously agreeing to their requests for selfies.

At every station on the way, from Agra in Uttar Pradesh to Bhopal, he ran into armies of his fans and supporters, crowding the platforms to get photographed with an avuncular leader the state affectionately called “Mama” or maternal uncle. Chouhan obligingly stood at the door of his coach with folded hands.

On his arrival in Bhopal, videos of a “rath” (decorated truck) ride on the roads with petals being showered on him were posted on his timeline, captioned “Bhopal” with a red heart emoji.

The message was unambiguous: Chouhan may have been relocated to Delhi but his heart still lay in Bhopal just as Bhopal’s heart still belonged to him.

And one of the greatest survivors of Indian politics — who had held on to his Bhopal citadel for a decade on Modi’s prime ministerial watch despite being once seen as a challenger to the latter’s national ambitions — has age on his side, too. He only turned 65 in March and has ample time to bounce back.

Perhaps Chouhan was trying to silently re-emphasise the defiant words he had thrown out in the middle of the Assembly poll campaign last December, responding to an alleged Congress post on social media titled “MamaKaShraddh” (Mama’s last rites).

“But I am Shivraj. Even if I die, I will rise again from the ashes like a phoenix to work for the people of Madhya Pradesh,” he had declared.

He couldn’t have known that after an unexpectedly huge win, he would be tossed out of the chief minister’s chair by his party bosses in Delhi.

Phoenix or not, Chouhan has indeed bounced back, securing a prime slot in Modi’s coalition government in Delhi. He had been the sixth to take oath on June 9 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, right after J.P. Nadda, the outgoing BJP president who has returned to the government.

Like Chouhan, two other survivors from the Vajpayee-Advani era — Vasundhara Raje Scindia of Rajasthan and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh — had ruled their states for decades. Last December, they too had been shunted out, denied a return to the chief minister’s chair after resounding Assembly poll victories in their states.

Chouhan is the only one among the trio to have secured a slot — and a key one — in Delhi.

When Vasundhara called on him in Delhi on Wednesday, the contrast in their current political fortunes couldn’t be missed.

“Today I met the union minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri @ChouhanShivraj in New Delhi and congratulated him,” Vasundhara posted on X with pictures of her greeting Chouhan with a bouquet.

The feisty Vasundhara, 71, seems to have quietly accepted her sidelining by Modi-Shah, perhaps as a “sacrifice” to promote son Dushyant Singh’s political career. Dushyant, though, hasn’t even been made a junior minister despite being elected for a fourth term from family borough Jhalawar-Baran.

Raman has accepted the “consolation post” of Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker.

Once, all three were fellow chief ministers of Modi. In 2013, when the question came up about the BJP picking a prime ministerial face for the following year’s general election, Advani had preferred Chouhan over Modi, the other main contender, saying he was a better performer and a humble man.

Modi, however, prevailed. And when Modi-Shah removed the three heartland heavyweights last December, it was seen as a final assertion of his undoubted supremacy over a group of peers from a decade ago.

But Chouhan’s “calculated surrender” before the new political reality --- Modi-Shah’s tightening grip on the party – as well as his popularity and a poll verdict that has dented Modi’s aura appear to have aided his cause.

That streak of pragmatism was in evidence on Sunday too: while showcasing his enduring popularity with the train ride and the welcome he received in Bhopal, Chouhan also took care to display his loyalty to Modi.

“The people of the country have immense love in their hearts for the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji; my daughter wishes to convey her greetings to the Prime Minister,” Chouhan wrote on X.

He attached the video of a girl on the train requesting him to convey her greetings to Modi.

The Prime Minister may have been equally pragmatic in rewarding Chouhan – it keeps a former rival and formidable politician happy, and also satisfies the age-old maxim about keeping one’s enemies close!

Chouhan’s victory margin of over 8 lakh votes from Vidisha Lok Sabha seat did not just reaffirm his popular appeal in his home state but put to shade Modi’s margin of 1.5 lakh votes in Varanasi.

Six months ago, Chouhan had been pained at his ouster from Bhopal but expressed optimism about rising again even in that dark hour, drawing a parallel from the Ramayana.

“Sometimes, a person is sent into vanvas (exile) when a raj tilak (coronation) looks imminent,” he had told a crowd, mostly of weeping women, in his Assembly constituency Budhni. “But that (exile) could be for the fulfilment of some objective.”

Chouhan had promptly vacated the chief minister’s bungalow and moved to a new house, which he named “Mama Ka Ghar”, implying an intention to stay put in Bhopal.

He had posted pictures of his new home, saying: “The address has changed, but ‘Mama Ka Ghar’ is still Mama’s house. I will remain connected to you like a brother and maternal uncle. The doors of my house will always be open for you…”

Mama Ka Ghar has now shifted to Lutyens’ Delhi, where a bungalow commensurate with Chouhan’s seniority and designation will soon be allotted to him. But he still appears to be eyeing the chair he has lost in Bhopal.

“Jahan Mama rahega wahan Mama ka ghar bhi hoga (Wherever Mama stays, there Mama’s home will be),” he was quoted as telling reporters in Bhopal on Sunday.