Rajasthan Chief Minister announcement: BJP MLA says 'be prepared for surprises' ahead of crucial meet

New Rajasthan CM: Former BJP MP and MLA-elect in Rajasthan Kirodi Lal Meena on Tuesday said that a "surprise" could be expected during the formal meeting of MLAs in Jaipur on Tuesday. "Your analysis turned out wrong in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh... You should be ready for a surprise," the MP said on Tuesday. All newly elected MLAs are scheduled to meet in Jaipur on Tuesday to formally elect the next chief minister of the state. 

The meeting, which will start at 4 pm at the BJP state office in Jaipur, will be chaired by state observers Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Saroj Pandey and Vinod Tawde. 

During the meeting, the central observers are expected to engage in one-on-one discussions with the MLAs before the formal election of the legislative party leader.

Meena added that whatever decision is taken would be based on total consensus among the MLAs.

There is speculation that the party, which has chosen an OBC leader in Madhya Pradesh and a tribal leader in Chhattisgarh, could pick a woman as the chief minister in Rajasthan. BJP’s state chief CP Joshi has already said that the party may pick a new face as the chief minister. 

Former CM Vasundhara Raje, who was the chief minister for two terms, BJP MLA Diya Kumari, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and Baba Balaknath are in the race for the top post. 

Diya Kumari, the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur, joined the BJP in 2013. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, she won from Rajsamand constituency by a margin of 5.51 lakh votes and entered the parliament.

In the recent Assembly polls, she won the Vidhyadhar Nagar assembly seat against Congress' Sitaram Agarwal with a margin of 71,368 votes.

Other contenders for the CM's post include  Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The BJP won 115 seats out of 199 in Rajasthan for which elections were held in November. 

Also read: Ex-CM Raman Singh to be Chhattisgarh Speaker, Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma appointed as Deputy CMs

Also read: 'Three-time MLA, OBC leader': All about Mohan Yadav, the new Madhya Pradesh chief minister