New Delhi, Dec 7:
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan is unlikely to get another term as Chief Minister, despite having led the party to a spectacular victory in the assembly election, results of which were announced Sunday.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh too were out of the race for the CM’s chair.
Multiple leaders in Delhi BJP express that the party high command is not inclined to give Chouhan — the incumbent CM at the time of last month’s elections — a fifth term in office and is looking at other options.
They also listed their wish list, which states Prahlad Singh Patel, union minister and OBC leader, is emerging as the front-runner among contenders to the CM’s chair, although many other names are being discussed. Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya are also said to be among the aspirants.
Relatively young at 64, Chouhan was being seen in party circles as the natural choice to head the next government after the BJP’s stunning poll victory. For many, the victory is an endorsement of the popularity of Chouhan’s governance and welfare schemes, especially the Ladli Behna financial assistance scheme he introduced earlier this year.
The party won 163 seats of 230 assembly seats in MP.
Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, Raje has been flexing her muscles after the party won 115 of 199 seats.
BJP has won 54 of the Chhattisgarh’s 90 assembly seats.
According to a senior party leader in Delhi, these three states provide the BJP an opportunity to consolidate its reach among specific communities ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“These elections have given us an opportunity to give specific leaders from different communities responsibilities as chief ministers, deputy chief ministers and ministers. All this is being debated and things will be finalised soon,” the leader said.
