BJP may choose new faces as CMs in 3 states
After its recent impressive electoral victories, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently in the hectic process of selecting candidates for chief minister positions in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The party's top leadership, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reportedly been conducting back-to-back meetings to discuss potential contenders for these crucial roles. The BJP is likely to choose new faces for the coveted posts in the heartland states considering the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, per NDTV.
Why does this story matter?
This comes as the BJP registered a thumping win in the last phase of the 2023 assembly elections. The saffron brigade made a comeback in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, defeating the Congress. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP retained power, winning 163 seats and limiting the Congress to 63 seats. However, in none of these states did the party project a chief minister face. On the other hand, the Congress unseated the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in Telangana with 64 seats.
PM Modi attends meeting on chief minister selection
On Tuesday, the top leaders reportedly held a four-and-a-half-hour meeting at PM Modi's residence in New Delhi. They reportedly discussed all the top candidates for the chief minister posts in the winning states. Besides PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda attended the meeting. This came after Shah and Nadda held discussions with the BJP's state in-charges to gather feedback on local leaders.
Observers to oversee newly elected MLAs' meetings
The BJP's central leadership is also expected to appoint observers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh soon, per reports. These observers will reportedly oversee meetings of newly elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in these states to elect their leaders in the assembly. Notably, the BJP leadership is known to spring a surprise with its choices after every election win.
Top CM probables for 3 states
In MP, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the top contender. Others include Union ministers Prahlad Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar, and senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya. For Rajasthan, the CM probables include former CM Vasundhara Raje, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers Gajendra Shekhawat and Arjun Meghwal, state chief CP Joshi, and leaders Diya Kumari and Mahant Balaknath. In Chhattisgarh, former CM Raman Singh, state BJP chief Arun Kumar Sao, Dharamlal Kaushik, and ex-administrator OP Chaudhary are top contenders.
