Shruti Suman
The BJP is considering the possibility of appointing new Chief Ministers in the key states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, where it secured significant victories in the recent polls, as per party sources. The decision-making process is influenced by the upcoming 2024 general elections, the sources noted. Following the party’s success in the Assembly polls in these states, discussions at the central leadership level have been ongoing to identify potential Chief Minister candidates.
A lengthy four-and-a-half-hour meeting took place at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, attended by key figures such as Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. The meeting focused on frontrunners for the Chief Minister positions in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. This extensive session followed a series of prior meetings between Mr. Shah, Mr. Nadda, and the BJP’s state in-charges to gather feedback on local leaders.
The central leadership of the BJP is expected to appoint observers for the three states in the near future. These observers will supervise meetings of the newly elected MLAs in each state to facilitate the selection of their leaders in the Assembly.
In Madhya Pradesh, contenders for the top post include the incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union ministers Prahlad Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Narendra Singh Tomar, as well as senior state leader Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Rajasthan also has several potential candidates, including former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, 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.
Chhattisgarh sees contenders like former Chief Minister Raman Singh, State BJP president Arun Kumar Sao, leader of opposition Dharamlal Kaushik, and former IAS officer O P Chaudhary vying for the Chief Minister post.
It’s worth noting that the BJP leadership has a history of surprising choices, and the final decisions may deviate from initial expectations.
