Chhattisgarh new CM: Suspense could end in next 24 hours as BJP calls legislative party meeting

Chhattisgarh chief minister: The Bharatiya Janata Party will be organising a meeting of the newly elected 54 MLAs in Chhattisgarh on Sunday to elect the leader of its legislative party, who will become the next chief minister. 

On Friday, the BJP announced the appointment of observers for three states –Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after it emerged victorious in the recently concluded Assembly elections. Union ministers Arjun Munda, Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam were selected as the observers for Chhattisgarh.

"The BJP's legislative party meeting will be held on Sunday. The party's three observers - Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and party general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam - will be present in the meeting," the party's state unit president Arun Sao told reporters on Saturday.

While the BJP won 54 of the 90 seats in the state, the Congress, which had won 68 seats in 2018, was reduced to 35 seats. The Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) managed to win one seat in the assembly elections.

The BJP fought the elections without naming any chief ministerial candidate. The observers are expected to chair the meeting of the newly elected MLAs and pick up the suitable candidate with maximum support.

Earlier, it was reported that the BJP is likely to appoint new faces as Chief Ministers in all three states. 

Earlier this week, India Today reported that Raman Singh, Ramvichar Netam, Saroj Pandey, Arun Sao, O.P. Chaudhary, and Vishnu Deo Sai are the frontrunners for the chief minister's position in Chhattisgarh.

It is being speculated that the BJP would go for an OBC or a tribal chief minister if it doesn't pick party stalwart Raman Singh, who had served as Chief Minister thrice from 2003 to 2018.

Singh, currently the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs at the Centre, contested from the Bharatpur-Sonhat assembly seat. She won the election by nearly 5,000 votes. If BJP decides to go with a woman leader, Renuka Singh may be picked for the top job. 

But if BJP decides to pick up a tribal face,  Vishnu Deo Sai, who is the BJP's former state chief and a former union minister, can be chosen for the top job. He held the position of State President of the BJP for Chhattisgarh from 2020 to 2022.

Raman Singh has been the strongest contender of the top job: He is the current national Vice President of the BJP and has been a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2004. He was a Minister of State in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Ramvichar Netam is another possible pick for the top post. He had held the position of Cabinet Minister looking after multiple portfolios in Raman Singh's ministry.