New Delhi: Keeping the 2024 general election in mind, the BJP might pick new faces in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the chief ministerial posts, according to news agency ANI.
While the saffron part retained Madhya Pradesh, it wrested Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from Congress in the recent Assembly polls. Since the party did not declare its CM face during the election campaign, it is now confronted with the crucial task of selecting potential chief ministerial candidates and a generational change cannot be ruled out despite all former Chief Ministers — Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vasundhara Raje and Raman Singh — being re-elected.
Since the declaration of the election results on December 3, there is anticipation among voters and leaders alike on whether the party’s central leadership will repose faith in two-term CM Vasundhara Raje or choose to go with a fresh face in Rajasthan. Among the BJP leaders, seven prominent figures, including Vasundhara,Diya Kumari, and Baba Balaknath, are in contention for the post, according to Financial Express.
The suspense over who will be chosen as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh continued even as the current incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan denied being a contender for the post and instead said that his immediate focus was to ensure that the party’s win all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections. It was earlier speculated that Chouhan was being sidelined with seven MPs, including three Union ministers, contesting the Assembly poll.
However, he may retain the post having strengthened his claim with the party’s stupendous performance, according to media reports.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal, state party president C P Joshi, and prominent leaders Diya Kumari and Mahant Balaknath are also being seen as probables.
In Chhattisgarh, veteran leader Raman Singh is considered a strong contender for the chief ministerial role. State BJP president Arun Kumar Sao, leader of opposition Dharamlal Kaushik and former IAS officer O P Chaudhary are also being seen as contenders for the post, the NDTV reported.
Notably, the top BJP leadership, including party president JP Nadda and Home minister Amit Shah, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s residence to discuss the CM pick on Tuesday and the meeting went on for close to five hours
Earlier in the day, 10 BJP MPs, including two Union Ministers who won the assembly elections, submitted their resignation. They are Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, Rakesh Singh, Uday Pratap Singh, and Riti Pathak from Madhya Pradesh; Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Diya Kumari, Kirori Lal Meena (Rajya Sabha MP) from Rajasthan; and Arun Sao and Gomti Sai from Chhattisgarh.
A total of 12 MPs won the state elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the Hindustan Times reported.
