Parleys, shows of strength in focus before BJP picks CMS

Thursday brought little clarity on the identity of the new chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, although there were hectic behind-the-scenes parleys within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and quiet shows of strength by aspirants to the posts.

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With all 12 lawmakers-11 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha resigning (10 resigned on Wednesday and two on Thursday) from their respective House and three of them who are ministers also resigning from the council of ministers, suspense over the new chief ministers of the three states continued to mount.

People familiar with the matter in the BJP said that the party would go for a generational shift in at least one of the three states, and perhaps all three. One of them added on condition of anonymity that the party could opt for a woman or a tribal in Chhattisgarh. Interestingly, Renuka Singh, a woman and a tribal, resigned as MP and minister on Thursday.

But a second person said that this did not mean she was being named chief minister, only that she was among the candidates.

Indeed, if anything, Thursday only saw more names doing the rounds. In the case of Chhattisgarh, apart from Singh, this includes Arun Sao, the state BJP chief who is among the lawmakers who resigned on Wednesday, and OP Chaudhary and Ram Vichar Netam. While the first person said former chief minister of the state Raman Singh was not a candidate, the second person said he could not be ruled out.