BJP CM race: Rajnath Singh, ML Khattar, Arjun Munda lead BJP observers' list for Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, December 8

Setting the ball rolling for the selection of chief ministers, the BJP on Friday appointed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda as the lead observers for the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Rajnath Singh, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pandey will oversee CM selection and engagement with elected MLAs in Rajasthan.

Haryana CM Khattar, Asha Lakra and BJP OBC cell chief K Laxman will go to MP.

Arjun Munda, Sarbanand Sonowal, and BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam will handle Chhattisgarh.

Sources said ex-CMs Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan, Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh and Shivraj Chouhan in MP remain in contention unless replaced by new faces.

The party may repeat these veterans as CMs.

In Chhattisgarh, tribal faces Lata Usendi, Gomti Sai and Renuka Singh are in contention for major roles along with state BJP chief Arun Sao, Vishnu Sai and Ram Vichar Netam.

In MP, Narendra Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Kailash Vijayvargiya are among the probables alongside Chouhan.

In Rajasthan, Diya Kumari, Mahant Balak Nath, are among those in contention apart from Raje.

The observers will visit states and talk to the MLAs over the weekend.

The input will be given to the BJP parliamentary board, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, which will take the final call, probably by Sunday.

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