NEW DELHI: The novel coronavirus appears to have cast its shadow over the government formation in Madhya Pradesh as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is caught fire-fighting to deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The BJP is yet to call a Parliamentary Board meeting to assign Central observers for the legislature party meeting in Bhopal. With the Janata curfew slated for Sunday, sources said the BJP Parliamentary Board may meet only next week.
The top leadership, sources said, has taken a stern view at the celebrations at the BJP office in Bhopal after incumbent chief minister Kamal Nath announced resignation on Thursday.
“On one hand, the Prime Minister gave the message of social distancing, while the BJP workers visibly mocked at the appeal of the top leader of the party, besides giving a wrong message to the people,” said a senior BJP functionary.
Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is widely tipped to return to the saddle in Bhopal even as former BJP chief Amit Shah had seemingly tried to promote Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in the state.
“In the light of the corona pandemic, the new government in the state will need to take charge without wasting time since urgent measures are required to deal with the situation, which requires political leadership leading from the front,” added the BJP functionary. The Congress rebel MLAs later met BJP chief J P Nadda to discuss their future course of actions. With the Assembly Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati accepting their resignation, the rebels would be seeking assurances from Nadda for the BJP tickets in the by-elections in the next six months.
Congress rebels join BJP
Twenty-two rebel Congress MLAs, whose resignations from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly had led to the fall of the Kamal Nath government, joined the BJP on Saturday, national general secretary of the party Kailash Vijayvargiya said.
These leaders, along with Jyotiraditya Scindia, met BJP president J P Nadda, who welcomed their decision to join the saffron party.