The BJP has held meetings on selected three new chief ministers
New Delhi:
The BJP is still working on selecting the final names to be appointed chief ministers in the three states where the party won the recent assembly elections, sources said. The party will appoint observers for the three states tomorrow to finally choose the names, they said.
It is said that there are more than a handful of names in the list of candidates for the posts of chief minister in the three states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP fought the elections without naming a chief ministerial candidate.
The observers are likely to monitor the meetings of the newly elected MLAs in the three states where they will elect their leaders. Many within the BJP see the huge mandate it has won in the three states as a strong statement of broader popular support for its policies and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan remains a strong candidate in Madhya Pradesh after the party's victory with a two-third majority. Union ministers Prahlad Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar are also seen as likely.
In Chhattisgarh, former Prime Minister Raman Singh, state BJP president Arun Kumar Sao, Opposition Leader Dharamlal Kaushik and former IAS officer OP Chaudhary are seen as contenders by political analysts. Except Mr Singh, all three leaders are from the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
However, the BJP leadership has often surprised observers in the past with its choices as chief minister.
In Rajasthan, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is seen as one of the contenders for the top position. About 25 BJP MLA met her on Monday in what was seen as a show of support and strength. While calling it a courtesy meeting, the MLAs said they would support Ms Raje if the party leadership chose her for the top position. Ms Raje along with her son Dushyant Singh met BJP chief JP Nadda in Delhi this evening.
