New Delhi: The BJP has appointed observers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to initiate the process of selecting the chief ministers in these three states.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh was entrusted with Rajasthan, and he will be assisted by BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and Chhattisgarh Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and BJP OBC Morcha chief K. Laxman were deputed to Madhya Pradesh, where all eyes are on the fate of four-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
In Chhattisgarh where tribals comprise 32 percent of the population, the BJP has sent Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda Arjun Munda along with another Union minister Sarbananda Sonwal and party general secretary Dushyant Gautam.
These observers will meet MLAs in their respective states at the BJP legislature party meeting and select the chief ministers.
Even in its choice of observers, the BJP brass has considered several factors such as seniority and social fabric of these three states.
For instance, Rajnath Singh is a Rajput and a senior leader who has earlier served as the BJP chief. Though BJP Rajasthan in-charge Arun Singh is his brother-in-law, Rajnath is largely seen as a neutral leader. Moreover, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje had demanded a neutral observer.
Given the OBC dominance in Madhya Pradesh and the tribals in Chhattisgarh, the party went along with Laxman and Arjun as its choice of central observers.
Khattar, in contrast, is for the first time undertaking an organisational role outside Haryana as observer. With the election approaching in his own state, Khattar will have to summon up all his experience from his RSS pracharak days to handle the situation in Madhya Pradesh.
Also Read: ‘Campaign against liquor scam, corruption’ — OP Mathur on how BJP brought down Congress in Chhattisgarh
Rajasthan toughest of three
In related developments, Raje called on BJP chief J.P. Nadda in Delhi on Thursday amid the suspense over who gets to become the next chief minister in Rajasthan. Choosing the CM is seemingly turning out to be the more challenging of the other two states.
Known for being not in the best terms with the central leadership, Raje presented a fact sheet of leaders who were entrusted with ensuring victory in their districts as well as performance of the CM contenders to Nadda.
“Vasundhara ji has presented her version and placed facts on how she alone can ensure 25 seats in the state. Most of the other CM contenders don’t have trust of MLAs and without their support, selecting the chief minister can harm the party in the long run. She has promised to toe the party line and briefed that many leaders are conspiring against her in spreading rumour,” an MLA from her camp told ThePrint.
Though resounding victories in the three states have given enough room to launch a generational change, the central leadership is looking not only to balance caste equations with administrative skills but also the ability to prepare ground to win the Lok Sabha seats in their states barely five months down the line.
Several senior leaders ThePrint spoke to conceded that many CM contenders in Rajasthan lack such support among MLAs but the party wants generational change as it is the appropriate time.
“There are several options but all have their own sets of merits and disadvantages — some lack administrative experience and others lack support from MLAs. But once a decision is made, everybody will work towards that. The party wants to take Raje on board in its decision. So, she was called to hear her opinion and inputs before making the final decision,” one of them told ThePrint.
A. Rajasthan BJP leader was more forthcoming about the chances of the probable candidates.
“She has at least 30 loyalist MLAs who met her at her residence… The party doesn’t want to take risks. Most of her MLAs will ultimately tow the party line, but her opinion can’t be overlooked. If she is not the candidate, she will prefer a neutral person to be the chief minister,” the BJP state leader said.
“She has reservations about several names. (Arjun Ram) Meghwal has limited appeal although he has administrative experience. Raje has a problem with Gajendra Shekhawat. Balaknath has no administrative experience although he has good ties with RSS and Yogi (Adityanath). Even Raje has no problem. Ashwini Vaishnaw has administrative experience but no support in MLAs.”
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP’s Lodh face Prahlad SIngh Patel is a serious contender as he is only one year junior to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The other probables are Kailash Vijayvargiya and Narendra Singh Tomar. That said, Chouhan can’t be overlooked at the time of the impending Lok Sabha polls, party insiders said.
It is learnt that the BJP leadership is having a hard look at the party’s seven percent vote share jump from 41.02 percent to 48.55 percent before snubbing Chouhan’s claim. On his part, Chouhan made all the right noises with the clever message of crediting PM Modi with the win in his state.
As things stand now, the BJP brass will face less trouble in selecting the CM face in Chhattisgarh. Former chief minister Raman Singh is almost on the verge of retirement. The choice is between OBC and tribal leader for the BJP which in state president Arun Sao not only has a relatively young OBC face but also great organisational skills.
Other contenders believed to be in the race are former Union ministers Vishnu Deo Sai and Renuka Singh, and former WCD minister Lata Usendi.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: How MP sweep surprised BJP brass — ‘sidelined’ Shivraj’s women connect, state unit’s groundwork