BJP to select Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on December 11; Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan choices likely to impact decision

BJP to select Madhya Pradesh on December 11; OBC leader likely to be chosen. Chances of OBC CM in MP increased after BJP's win in Assembly polls. Frontrunners include incumbent CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Prahlad Singh Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar, Kailash Vijayvargiya. BJP likely to pick OBC CM, but Shivraj Singh Chouhan also has a "natural claim" to the post.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to select its Chief Minister for Madhya Pradesh on December 11, as its legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held that evening in the State capital in the presence of the party’s three central observers. 

After the party picked a tribal leader, Vishnu Deo Sai, as its CM in Chhattisgarh, party sources and political observers say that the chances of selecting a contender from the other backward classes (OBCs) in M.P. have increased. Apart from the incumbent CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, an OBC himself, another leader from the community, Prahlad Singh Patel who recently resigned as a Union Minister, is among the frontrunners for the top post. 

In last month’s Assembly election, the BJP won a massive majority with 163 seats. The Congress, which was hoping to wrest power in the State, could only manage 66 seats. 

Following the poll results, various names have been doing the rounds as contenders for the CM post. Apart from the two OBC leaders, others in the race include: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who only moved from the Congress to the BJP in 2020, toppling the Congress’ 15-month government in M.P.; Narendra Singh Tomar, who also resigned from the Union Cabinet just days ago; and BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya. Except for Mr. Scindia, all these contested and won seats in the State election.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vijayvargiya also called on Mr. Chouhan at the latter’s official residence here just a day before the meeting of MLAs. Over the past few days, Mr. Vijayvargiya has made remarks underplaying the role of Mr. Chouhan’s flagship Ladli Behna Scheme in the BJP’s win, instead crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and the management of BJP’s central leadership. 

After the Chhattisgarh decision, a source in the State BJP said that while the chances of an OBC leader are high, the decision in Bhopal will also depend on the party’s choice for a CM in Rajasthan. “Nobody knows for sure what our high command has decided but if the party picks a Rajput leader in Rajasthan, then OBC is the natural choice here. Although if the party succeeds in picking a non-Rajput leader like Mahant Balak Nath in Rajasthan, we can expect a Rajput CM here,” the leader said. 

Various Rajput leaders, including former CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, are among the contenders in Rajasthan.