All eyes on Madhya Pradesh as BJP to select chief minister today

New Delhi: The deliberations for the post of the chief ministers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the BJP continued for another day, even as the party announced a chief minister in Chhattisgarh.

In Madhya Pradesh, the newly-elected MLAs will hold a meeting on Monday to elect the leader of the legislative party. State leaders said that the meeting may be in the early evening, with the party inviting its MLAs for lunch prior to the meeting.

Observers sent in by the party’s central command—Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha head K Laxman, and secretary Asha Lakra—will be part of the meeting.

There is speculation that the party might drop Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had been chief minister in the state for four terms. The BJP did not declare a chief minister face while contesting the elections.

The names of Union ministers Prahlad Patel, Narendra Singh Tomar, and Jyotiraditya Scindia are doing the rounds for the post.

This is for the third time since 2004 that the Bharatiya Janata Party has sent central observers to MP.

In August 2004, when Uma Bharti resigned as chief minister, the party’s senior leaders Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley were sent as central observers to the state.

In November 2005, when Babulal Gaur resigned from the top post in the state, Rajnath Singh was sent as a central observer to help legislators pick the new chief minister. At the time, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was elected as the leader of the legislative party.

Incidentally, since 2003, all three CMs of the BJP in MP, namely Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Chouhan, have been from the Other Backward Classes. The population of OBCs in MP is around 48 per cent.

In Rajasthan, the party dispatched observers Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tawde, and Saroj Pande on Friday amid speculations that the party’s central leadership could elect a fresh face to the post.

The BJP is yet to announce the meeting of the legislature party to choose its leader, who will be the chief minister.

MLAs meet Raje

However, on Sunday, at least 10 new MLAs met former CM Vasundhara Raje at her Civil Lines residence. This is the second such meeting after the results were declared. The party could also appoint two deputy chief ministers in the state.