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NEW DELHI: The BJP on Sunday picked senior tribal leader and former Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai as its chief minister for Chhattisgarh, ending days of suspense in at least one of the three states where it recently won the assembly elections.
However, the much-anticipated announcement for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is expected only next week after the respective legislature party meetings in the two states.
The BJP meeting will take place in Madhya Pradesh on December 11. In Rajasthan, sources said the meeting could take place on December 12.
The chief ministerial race within the saffron party has generated a lot of buzz in the recent days amid reports that BJP has decided to go for a new line of leadership in the three states.
This became even more evident on Sunday when BJP chose Vishnu Deo Sai as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh over former CM Raman Singh.
The decision signals BJP’s resolve to pick new faces this time, even as former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan remain in contention in their respective states.
Raje, Chouhan intensify efforts
Both Raje and Chouhan, the most prominent faces for BJP in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, have kept themsleves rather busy over the last few days amid continuing suspense over the CM selection.
Earlier this week, Raje flew to Delhi to meet BJP chief JP Nadda.
Before her visit, she held meetings with over 60 newly-elected BJP MLAs at her residence on Monday and Tuesday.
On Sunday, some newly-elected BJP MLAs called on the former Rajasthan chief minister at her Civil Lines residence on Sunday.
Nearly 10 MLAs, including Ajay Singh and Babu Singh, were at Raje’s residence, sources in the party said.
The flurry of meetings signals Raje’s efforts to build support for her candidature ahead of the BJP legislature party meeting in Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, Chouhan has adopted a different approach to Raje, insisting that he is not in race for the CM post.
After the election results, Chouhan decided to fly to Chhindwara instead of the national capital to assess the BJP’s failure in the region.
Even though the four-time MP CM has maintained his distance from the political action in Delhi, Chouhan’s supporters have been heavily crediting the flagship ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme for BJP’s landslide win in the state.
For BJP itself, it will be difficult to overlook Chouhan since his schemes and policies have been one of key reasons behind the party’s triumph in Madhya Pradesh.
However, on Saturday, Chouhan’s cryptic post on X further fuelled speculation over BJP’s CM choice for MP.
The official handle of the Madhya Pradesh chief minister posted a picture of Chouhan with his palms brought together. The caption read: “Sabhi ko Ram Ram” (‘Ram Ram’ to all).
The post sparked off speculations about Chouhan’s future as “Ram Ram” is used both as a greeting as well as a parting message.
Many hats in the ring
According to sources, many names were doing the rounds for the top post in Chhattisgarh and the decision to zero in on Sai was taken at the last minute during the legislature party meeting.
In MP and Rajasthan too, several hopefuls have emerged over the last few days.
According to party insiders, in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP might zero in on another Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader in case it replaces Chouhan.
Prahlad Patel, a Lodhi who has been elected from Narsinghpur assembly seat and has resigned as Union minister, could become the frontrunner for the CM position in the state.
The name of Narendra Tomar, who has been elected from Dimani and has since resigned as Union minister, was also doing rounds for the CM’s post.
According to party insiders, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP state chief V D Sharma are also among other potential candidates.
Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, former Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari, Union minister and former Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and former Alwar MP Mahant Balaknath have emerged as frontrunners.
(With inputs from agencies)
However, the much-anticipated announcement for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is expected only next week after the respective legislature party meetings in the two states.
The BJP meeting will take place in Madhya Pradesh on December 11. In Rajasthan, sources said the meeting could take place on December 12.
The chief ministerial race within the saffron party has generated a lot of buzz in the recent days amid reports that BJP has decided to go for a new line of leadership in the three states.
This became even more evident on Sunday when BJP chose Vishnu Deo Sai as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh over former CM Raman Singh.
The decision signals BJP’s resolve to pick new faces this time, even as former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan remain in contention in their respective states.
Raje, Chouhan intensify efforts
Both Raje and Chouhan, the most prominent faces for BJP in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, have kept themsleves rather busy over the last few days amid continuing suspense over the CM selection.
Earlier this week, Raje flew to Delhi to meet BJP chief JP Nadda.
Before her visit, she held meetings with over 60 newly-elected BJP MLAs at her residence on Monday and Tuesday.
On Sunday, some newly-elected BJP MLAs called on the former Rajasthan chief minister at her Civil Lines residence on Sunday.
Nearly 10 MLAs, including Ajay Singh and Babu Singh, were at Raje’s residence, sources in the party said.
The flurry of meetings signals Raje’s efforts to build support for her candidature ahead of the BJP legislature party meeting in Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, Chouhan has adopted a different approach to Raje, insisting that he is not in race for the CM post.
After the election results, Chouhan decided to fly to Chhindwara instead of the national capital to assess the BJP’s failure in the region.
Even though the four-time MP CM has maintained his distance from the political action in Delhi, Chouhan’s supporters have been heavily crediting the flagship ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme for BJP’s landslide win in the state.
For BJP itself, it will be difficult to overlook Chouhan since his schemes and policies have been one of key reasons behind the party’s triumph in Madhya Pradesh.
However, on Saturday, Chouhan’s cryptic post on X further fuelled speculation over BJP’s CM choice for MP.
The official handle of the Madhya Pradesh chief minister posted a picture of Chouhan with his palms brought together. The caption read: “Sabhi ko Ram Ram” (‘Ram Ram’ to all).
The post sparked off speculations about Chouhan’s future as “Ram Ram” is used both as a greeting as well as a parting message.
Many hats in the ring
According to sources, many names were doing the rounds for the top post in Chhattisgarh and the decision to zero in on Sai was taken at the last minute during the legislature party meeting.
In MP and Rajasthan too, several hopefuls have emerged over the last few days.
According to party insiders, in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP might zero in on another Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader in case it replaces Chouhan.
Prahlad Patel, a Lodhi who has been elected from Narsinghpur assembly seat and has resigned as Union minister, could become the frontrunner for the CM position in the state.
The name of Narendra Tomar, who has been elected from Dimani and has since resigned as Union minister, was also doing rounds for the CM’s post.
According to party insiders, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP state chief V D Sharma are also among other potential candidates.
Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, former Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari, Union minister and former Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and former Alwar MP Mahant Balaknath have emerged as frontrunners.
(With inputs from agencies)
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