Chouhan, Raje show strength as BJP mulls CMs for three states

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, December 4

After state election victories, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje displayed their strength in varied ways even as BJP leadership began parleys for the selection of CMs.

Chouhan welcomed hundreds of ‘laadli behnas’ at his residence in Bhopal, underlining the importance of women voters to BJP’s sweep in the state, a trend even PM Narendra Modi acknowledged in his victory speech on Sunday.

The party posted its second best performance in MP yesterday riding on what Chouhan’s aides term as the swing created by the support of direct cash transfer to 1.32 crore poor women besides a range of other pro-women schemes of the state government. Chouhan also met Congress veteran and former CM Kamal Nath today when the latter called upon the caretaker CM to congratulate him for BJP’s win.

In Jaipur, 25 BJP MLAs met Raje at her Civil Lines residence in what was seen as a show of strength after the BJP won 115 seats out of 199 in Rajasthan. Though MLAs, after the meeting said the BJP Parliamentary Board headed by PM Modi would take a call on CM-ship, the signal as to who they favoured was clear. Raje, for her part, has fully cooperated with the BJP leadership in the state holding 50 poll meetings.

Although the BJP appeared in no hurry to convene legislature party meetings, consultations were held in party circles on probable CMs as BJP chief JP Nadda met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Sources said Chouhan, Raje and Raman Singh were all still contenders until they were replaced.

The names of others — Rajsamand MP Diya Kumar, Union Minister Arjun Meghwal, Alwar MP Balak Nath in Rajasthan; Union Ministers Prahlad Patel, Narendra Tomar, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya in MP; and Arun Sao, Lata Usendi and Ram Vichar Netam in Chhattisgarh — are also doing the rounds.

Diya Kumari and Balak Nath, when asked today whether they were in contention, evaded the query.

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