the announcement of the first-ever tribal chief minister for Chhattisgarh, the Bharatiya Janata Party began to scotch the suspense over selecting candidates for the top position more than a week after the party won in the heartland states in the assembly elections. The party will now take the much-anticipated decision to pick chief ministers for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
Following the trend in Chhattisgarh and amid recent buzz, the BJP is likely to opt for a new line of leadership in the remaining states. However, former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and incumbent Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan remain to be tough contenders for the race.
The BJP’s newly elected Madhya Pradesh MLAs will meet in Bhopal on Monday to elect the leader of the legislative party, people aware of the matter said. The meeting will be supervised by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, national secretary Asha Lakra and Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman who were announced as party observers for Madhya Pradesh. The observers will hold one-on-one meetings with senior state leaders and legislators.