NEW DELHI: After the BJP’s resounding victory in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and the maiden victory of the Congress in Telangana, the search for chief ministers has begun. The decision on who will lead the governments will be taken by their respective central leaderships.
Sources said four-time CM of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, may get a fifth term. His Ladli Behna scheme, under which over one crore women were given Rs 1,250 per month, was the game-changer. Besides, the BJP leadership would not like to rock the boat in Madhya Pradesh five months before the all-important Lok Sabha elections.
In Rajasthan, former CM Vasundhara Raje is considered a strong candidate though she is not the central leadership’s favourite. Sources said the BJP leadership accepted that the sidelining of B S Yediyurappa was one of the key reasons for its defeat in Karnataka. It, therefore, brought Raje to the forefront after ignoring her for years.
Union ministers Arjun Meghwal and Gajendra Shekhawat are also in the race. But the party may choose Raje for the sake of stability. The real challenge for the BJP is in Chhattisgarh. It got an overwhelming support of tribals and a fair share of votes of the OBCs.
Though former CM Raman Singh led the party to victory, there is talk of a fresh face as the next CM from the tribal or OBC block. Among the front runners are Union minister Renuka Singh, former Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai and former state minister Ramvichar Netam.
Sources in the BJP said the party will definitely have one woman CM. As for Telangana, the Congress has decided to name its state unit president Revanth Reddy as the next CM, sources said.