New Delhi: Two days since the BJP won the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, there has been no word about its chief ministerial candidates in the states as the party high-command is said to be “weighing their options”.
Instead of projecting a chief ministerial face, the BJP based its campaign on “collective leadership”, which was seen as a euphemism for new leadership in these states.
The nature of the poll outcome has, however, forced a re-think in Madhya Pradesh at least, multiple BJP leaders said to ThePrint.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the face of the campaign in these states, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan — in the chair for 18 years — proved his enduring popularity with the party’s stupendous victory, the leaders said.
The party has secured 163 seats in the 230-member assembly,
“He has shown that he can deliver. Rather than getting upset or making his displeasure public over not being named the CM candidate, he continued his work and delivered,” said a party functionary in Madhya Pradesh.
“It’s difficult for the party to ignore his claim at this juncture.”
Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya are said to be among the chief ministerial contenders.
Reached for comment, Madhya Pradesh BJP state secretary Lokendra Parashar said “there is a process that will be followed and soon a meeting of the newly elected MLAs will be held”.
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Rajasthan & Chhattisgarh
In Rajasthan, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who didn’t get along with the party high-command, has started flexing her muscles. The party has scored a sweep in this state as well, winning 115 of 199 seats that went to the polls (election to one seat postponed because of candidate’s death).
Over the past two days, Raje, it is learnt, has met around 65 BJP MLAs in what’s seen as a show of strength.
“She is our leader and campaigned for us. We visited her to thank her for the support,” said one of the leaders who met her.
Raje campaigned extensively during the elections, addressing around 60 rallies in a span of 23 days at the request of individual candidates as she was not given any specific responsibility.
The party leadership, however, is learnt to be more inclined to go for a new face in Rajasthan.
Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MPs Diya Kumari, Rajyavardhan Rathore and C.P. Joshi, and Baba Balaknath — said to be “Rajasthan’s Yogi Adityanath” — are said to be the other chief ministerial contenders.
“The meetings she has held with the MLAs close to her assume importance in such a scenario,” a BJP leader from Rajasthan said.
Reached for comment, Rajasthan BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bhardwaj said the Parliament session was on, and a meeting of all the newly elected MLAs would “be held after central leaders send directions to this effect”.
As for Chhattisgarh, BJP sources said former chief minister Raman Singh is out of contention and the high-command is looking for a candidate among two tribal leaders — Union minister Renuka Singh and former state BJP chief Vishnu Deo Sai — and two OBC leaders, state BJP president and MP Arun Sao and former IAS officer O.P. Choudhary.
“Tribal votes constitute 32 percent in Chhattisgarh and we had a washout in 2018 but, this time around, we emerged victorious,” said a party functionary from Chhattisgarh.
“The issue that is being discussed is whether to have an OBC or a tribal face as the CM,” the functionary added.
Sources said it is also being discussed that, in a scenario where the party opts for an OBC face as CM, a tribal leader could be made the deputy CM, or vice-versa.
The BJP has won 54 of the state’s 90 assembly seats.
According to a senior party leader in Delhi, these three states provide the BJP an opportunity to consolidate its reach among specific communities ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“These elections have given us an opportunity to give specific leaders from different communities responsibilities as chief ministers, deputy chief ministers and ministers. All this is being debated and things will be finalised soon,” the leader said.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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