Rajasthan CM race: Vasundhara Raje to trump all other names

New Delhi: Suspense over whom the BJP will pick for the chief minister's post in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is unlikely to settle until Prime Minister Narendra Modi reveals his mind.

Top sources in the party told NewsDrum that it may take a couple of days and the dust will settle latest by Sunday.

“It has now become a norm for our party to declare the chief minister’s name in a week of winning an election,” one of the sources said.

Commenting on the speculations over various names floating as the CM probables, a senior BJP leader told NewsDrum that media is doing its job and that does not hamper our process of selecting a CM.

NewsDrum on Monday reported that the BJP is unlikely to experiment with fresh faces as chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

This means four-time chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will continue to govern Madhya Pradesh, Vasundhara Raje will take oath as the chief minister of Rajasthan for the third time while Raman Singh will assume the office of the chief minister of Chhattisgarh for the fourth term. 

However, sources told NewsDrum that only exception could be Chhattisgarh where BJP may place a new CM.

In Rajasthan, the top name doing rounds is Mahant Balaknath, who resigned as Lok Sabha member. His resignation from Lok Sabha gave further rise to the speculations.

However, it is unlikely that Balaknath will trump Raje as he is seen as a Raje backer. 

“If at all Raje backs him, he could be the next CM. Most likely, Raje will be the CM with Balaknath as her deputy,” said a BJP insider.

“There may deputy CMs in other states as well who may be eventually elevated as CM after LS polls,” the BJP insider added.

Raje, an MLA from Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar district under the Kota division, reached Delhi on Wednesday night.

Suspense over the chief ministerial face in Rajasthan prevailed ever since the party swept the Assembly poll in the state, winning 115 seats. Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, and Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal are considered among the frontrunners for the chief minister's post.