BHOPAL: The stage is all set for the BJP legislature party to hold a meeting in Bhopal on Monday, where 163 newly elected MLAs will elect the next Madhya Pradesh CM in the presence of the three central observers.
While the possibility of incumbent CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan being asked to continue in the position, at least till the Lok Sabha polls cannot be ruled out, there are several contenders in the race. They include Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and former Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel (both OBC politicians like Chouhan), ex-Union minister and BJP’s state poll management committee chief Narendra Singh Tomar and state BJP president VD Sharma and state ministers Gopal Bhargava and Rajendra Shukla (all from the upper caste).
The dark horses include national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya (a Vaishya) and Sumer Singh Solanki (first time tribal MP). In case the party opts for a woman for the post, two-time former MP and first time MLA Riti Pathak may be named as CM.
However, with the BJP already opting for a tribal leader as the CM in Chhattisgarh, and the last three CMs in MP being OBCs (where they constitute half of the state’s population), including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Late Babulal Gaur and Uma Bharti, the possibility of an OBC face being named as CM seems strong.
If Chouhan is not asked to continue and the party opts for a fresh OBC face, Prahlad Singh Patel and Jyotiraditya Scindia could be the frontrunners. While Patel comes from the powerful Lodhi caste, Scindia hails from Kurmi caste. Patel’s prospects may be boosted by the fact that the Lodhi caste has a sizeable voter base in 29 Lok Sabha seats of MP and in UP. Former UP CM late Kalyan Singh and ex-MP CM Uma Bharti hailed from the same caste.