BJP’s CM picks

NINE days after recording a resounding victory in the Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland, the BJP has finally completed the exercise of naming the chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. On Sunday, the party had chosen Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal leader, as the Chhattisgarh CM. A day later, OBC leader Mohan Yadav’s name was announced for the top post in Madhya Pradesh. First-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma was picked as the Rajasthan CM on Tuesday.

The BJP’s surprise choices signify a generational shift. The party has effected a smooth transfer of power from the old guard to the new leadership in the states. Senior leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who successfully countered anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh, served as the chief minister for four terms. Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh) and Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan) occupied the CM’s chair for three and two terms, respectively. The high command’s message to them was rather candid: pass the baton in the best interests of the party. Notably, Chouhan proposed Yadav’s name for the CM’s post, while Raman Singh did the same in Sai’s case and Raje vouched for Sharma.

The delay in naming the chief ministers had prompted the Congress, which lost no time in anointing Revanth Reddy as the Telangana CM, to take potshots at the BJP over alleged factionalism. However, the BJP has patiently managed to build consensus on the new CMs, underlining its organisational cohesion. Now it is imperative for the top brass to ensure that the regional satraps remain on board, considering that they have a key role to play during campaigning for next year’s Lok Sabha elections. The party, which had swept Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan in the 2019 parliamentary polls after losing the three states to the Congress in 2018, will be banking on intra-party unity to do an encore. The veterans’ experience of governance can also come in handy for the rookie CMs.

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