Amid suspense over CM picks for heartland states, BJP chief Nadda leaves Amit Shah's Delhi residence after key meeting
Dec 07, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 8 : Amid continuing suspense over the selection of chief ministers for three heartland states--Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh--where the party registered landslide victories in the Assembly polls, BJP national president JP Nadda was seen leaving the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital after a key meeting on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal earlier, on Thursday, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said the suspense and speculation over the CM choices in the three states would end on December 10.
While saying that the final decision on the CMs for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan would be taken on December 10, Vijayvargiya refrained from disclosing whether the party will select leaders from among the newly elected MLAs or bring in outsiders.
Even as feverish speculations over the BJP's CM picks in these three states continued, former Rajasthan chief minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje, on Thursday, called on Nadda at the latter's residence in the national capital.
Vasundhara Raje, a two-time chief minister; Diya Kumari, who has been elected MLA from Vidyadhar Nagar; Mahat Balak Nath, who won from the Tijara constituency; and Rajyavarardhan Singh Rathore, who won from the Jhotwara constituency, are believed to be among the top contenders for the post in Rajasthan.
While the BJP kept its cards close to its chest with regard to its CM choices for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, its top leaders gathered for a crucial Parliamentary Party meeting at the Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament House complex on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers S Jaishankar, Amit Shah and Ashwani Vaishanaw, along with other BJP MPs, were in attendance at the meeting.
The BJP swept the Hindi heartland on the counting day for four states that polled for their assemblies last month.
With its stunning mandates in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the BJP stumped not just their rivals but also some pollsters who had predicted tight races in these states.
The election results in four states, especially the losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, came as a huge blow to the Congress's hopes for 2024 as it is now out of power across a vast swathe of the Hindi heartland.
The BJP, which had been battling close to 20 years of incumbency in Madhya Pradesh, won a resounding mandate bagging 163 seats while the Congress finished a distant second at 66 seats.
In Rajasthan, the vote count painted a starkly different picture to what some of the pollsters had predicted, with the BJP poised to form the government, winning 115 seats, and the Congress trailing at 69 seats. Of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35.
