Ten BJP members, who were recently elected to the legislatures of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday resigned from Parliament. This included nine from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha. Two more are likely to send in their resignations soon.
The resignations contributed to the suspense on whether the BJP’s top leadership would continue with the old guard as the chief ministers of the three Hindi heartland states, or pick from among those who have vacated their Parliament membership . According to sources, the PM's conceptualisation of four ‘castes’ — women, youth, farmers and the poor — could determine the choice of the CMs and their deputies. In his speech on Sunday, Modi specifically acknowledged the support to the BJP of women, Scheduled Tribes and the youth in the three states.