By Nirendra Dev / New Delhi
Two Union Ministers including Agriculture Minister Tomar quit Parliament : Eight other BJP MPs-turned-MLAs also resignBJP’s MPs-turned-MLAs quit Parliament..
.. Between Agriculture Minister Narenda Singh Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, one of them could be surprise pick as new Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.
In Rajasthan, there is uncertainty over the possibility of Vasundhara Raje becoming CM again. Raje, who is a national vice-president of BJP, has been the chief minister twice from 2003 to 2008 and 2013 to 2018. But this time the BJP decided to go to polls without projecting any leader for the top post. They had the same policy even in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Ms Raje arrived Delhi on Wednesday night and is likely to meet BJP president J P Nadda. Besides incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, names doing the rounds in Madhya Pradesh also include Jyotiraditya Scindia. The former Congress leader was roped in by the saffron party in 2020 and he was ‘reportedly’ assured being rewarded suitably. Scindia, son of late Congress veteran Madhavrao holds strong support base in Gwalior region and was instrumental in bringing down Kamal Nath government in March 2020. Scindia is a Kshatriya by caste and Patel hail from the Lodhi community, and hence it will be an interesting move. Around 50 per cent of state’s population belong to OBC. BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, considered close to Amit Shah, may also walk away with the crown. For BJP, a big challenge may be in Jaipur as former CM Vasundhara Raje, incidentally an aunt of Jyotiraditya Scindia, is still in the race and about 60 MLAs have reportedly pledged their loyalty to her. But in BJP’s scheme of things, the decision of the party leadership and the role(s) decided by PM Narendra Modi will be crucial.It’s true, Rajasthan has the longest list of contenders and they include Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal, party veteran Kirori Lal Meena and state BJP chief CP Joshi.