NEW DELHI: While the BJP brass’s decision on the next chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh is awaited, 10 out of 12 party MPs, elected in the recent assembly pollsresigned as parliamentarians on Wednesday, adding to the already long list of choices being considered for the top jobs while also causing vacancies at the Centre.
One of the most senior functionaries of the party, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and junior minister for food processing Prahlad Singh Patel, both from Madhya Pradesh, are among those who resigned from the Lok Sabha as BJP decided that all 12 MPs recently elected to state assemblies should quit Parliament.
Before the polls, Tomar and Patel were discussed as among the possible replacements for Shivraj Singh Chouhan as MP CM, although the estimate post-poll is that BJP’s massive victory may have reprieved the incumbent. In contrast, the speculation about an “experiment” in Rajasthan has refused to go away despite open demonstrations of keenness by Vasundhara Raje’s supporters to see her take the helm for a third time.
In Chhattisgarh, too, many in the party are betting on the top slot going to a fresh face, either an OBC or a tribal, despite the return of three-time CM Raman Singh in the arena. The MPs who resigned included Arun Sao, chief of the party’s Chhattisgarh unit, who is from the numerically preponderant OBC Sahu community, and has been discussed as a probable since BJP stunned an overconfident Congress.
Party sources said all the MPs elected as MLAs might be considered for important responsibilities to utilise their experience in the execution of welfare schemes in their respective states. The presence of seniors in state capitals can also prove handy if the leadership wants to appoint deputy CMs or assign crucial departments to experienced hands. Two others, Union minister Renuka Singh from Chhattisgarh and Mahant Balaknath, elected MLA from Tijara in Rajasthan, will also quit, party leaders said.
One of the most senior functionaries of the party, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and junior minister for food processing Prahlad Singh Patel, both from Madhya Pradesh, are among those who resigned from the Lok Sabha as BJP decided that all 12 MPs recently elected to state assemblies should quit Parliament.
Before the polls, Tomar and Patel were discussed as among the possible replacements for Shivraj Singh Chouhan as MP CM, although the estimate post-poll is that BJP’s massive victory may have reprieved the incumbent. In contrast, the speculation about an “experiment” in Rajasthan has refused to go away despite open demonstrations of keenness by Vasundhara Raje’s supporters to see her take the helm for a third time.
In Chhattisgarh, too, many in the party are betting on the top slot going to a fresh face, either an OBC or a tribal, despite the return of three-time CM Raman Singh in the arena. The MPs who resigned included Arun Sao, chief of the party’s Chhattisgarh unit, who is from the numerically preponderant OBC Sahu community, and has been discussed as a probable since BJP stunned an overconfident Congress.
Party sources said all the MPs elected as MLAs might be considered for important responsibilities to utilise their experience in the execution of welfare schemes in their respective states. The presence of seniors in state capitals can also prove handy if the leadership wants to appoint deputy CMs or assign crucial departments to experienced hands. Two others, Union minister Renuka Singh from Chhattisgarh and Mahant Balaknath, elected MLA from Tijara in Rajasthan, will also quit, party leaders said.