Vasundhara Meets Nadda Amid Intense Race To Rajasthan CM’s Seat, C’garh & MP Pictures May Clear

The suspense over the chief ministerial face in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh remains as the Bharatiya Janata Party swept the assembly polls in the three states of the Hindi heartland on Sunday. 

The saffron party ousted the Congress in Rajasthan, winning 115 out of 199 seats and then unseated the Congress regime in Chhattisgarh, bagging 54 out of 90 seats. 

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP retained its position in power, sweeping 163 out of 230 seats. 

While the victory celebrations start to recede, the party is still posed with the crucial question of who will lead the three states as its chief minister. 

• The saffron party is likely to name central observers for electing the leaders of its legislature parties in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on Friday amid indications that new chief ministers may be named over the weekend, according to a PTI report. 
• As per the report, quoting a senior party leader, the observers for the three states are expected to be named on Friday. They will travel to the respective states to oversee the meetings of newly elected MLAs where the next chief ministers will be named.
• BJP leader and MLA from Indore-1, Kailash Vijayvargiya said that the picture will be cleared by Sunday. 
• On Thursday, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje met with BJP national president JP Nadda at his residence in the national capital. 
• According to sources, two more contenders have joined the race for the CM’s seat in Rajasthan, including Ashwini Vaishnaw and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
• Responding to a media query, newly elected MLA in Madhya Pradesh, Pralhad Patel said that the process for picking the CM candidate will start soon. “It’s worth the wait. I believe the (party) high command will start the process soon,” he said while speaking to news agency PTI. 
• Seasoned BJP leader from MP, Narendra Singh Tomar and Rajasthan MLA Baba Balaknath met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday. 
• In Chhattisgarh, BJP president Arun Sao, an OBC, Union minister Gomati Sai and Lata Usendi, both of whom come from scheduled tribes communities, are being seen as the frontrunners for the top post due to their social background, image and relatively young profile.