The countdown for the selection of chief ministers for the three states – Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh – where the BJP made a comprehensive victory in the state elections will set off today. The party has announced nine observers for three states who will conduct meetings, scheduled in Chhattisgarh today, in Madhya Pradesh tomorrow and in Rajasthan on Tuesday.
The BJP has been facing criticism for keeping its cards close and the cliff-hanging delay about the chief minister picks. Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah shared a photo of him playing chess with his granddaughters, with a caption that aired the speculations over who will get picked for the top job in the three heartland chess. “Don’t settle for a good move, always look for the better one,” read his post.
Chhattisgarh huddle:
The BJP announced Union ministers Sarbananada Sonowal and Arjun Munda, and party general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the observers for Chhattisgarh. They will hold a meeting with 54 newly-elected MLAs to select the legislative party leader, and possibly end the suspense over the CM role in the state.
The party fought elections in the state without a CM candidate, giving rise to speculations of the party going with new faces. However, Raman Singh, Ramvichar Netam, Arun Sao, OP Chaudhary, Saroj Pandey and Vishnu Deo Sai were earlier reported to be the frontrunners in the fray. It was also speculated that the saffron party would go with an OBC or a tribal candidate if it doesn’t select former CM and party stalwart Raman Singh for the position.
Of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35, claiming a significant vote share of 46.27 per cent to 42.23 per cent of the incumbent Congress.
Madhya Pradesh next
After the Chhattisgarh episode, the BJP will conduct the legislative party meeting in Bhopal tomorrow at 4 pm, where it is likely to announce the CM face for Madhya Pradesh. Apart from incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whose welfare schemes were believed to be one of the key reasons for the party’s landslide win in the state, Prahlad Singh Patel, Kailash Vijayavargiya and Jyotiraditya Scindia are also among the top contender for the position.
The party won emphatically 163 seats out of the 230-member assembly, while the Congress managed to emerge victorious on just 66 seats, down from the 114 it had secured in the 2018 polls.
Several contenders in Rajasthan
Leaders including former CM Vasundhara Raje’s comeback and Baba Balaknath have thrown their hats into the ring in Rajasthan for the top position. Several top leaders of the party including Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ashwini Vaishnav, Arjun Meghwal, CP Joshi, Baba Balaknath, Rajyavardhan Singh, Diya Kumari, Kirori Lal Meena, Om Birla, and Om Mathur are also believed to be in the fray.
Party observers for the state – Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde – will hold the key meeting in Jaipur on December 12.
