MP: Shivraj to meet Nadda amid speculations over his political future

 Bhopal: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is scheduled to meet BJP national president J P Nadda in Delhi on Tuesday amid speculations over his political future after he failed to secure a fifth term in power in the state despite party’s landslide victory in MP in the recent Assembly elections.

Sources said Mr Chouhan was summoned by the party leadership for a meeting on Tuesday.

“Mr Chouhan is scheduled to meet Mr Nadda at the party headquarters in Delhi at 12 in the afternoon on Tuesday”, sources close to the former chief minister said here on Monday.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Chouhan said that he is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Monday night.

However, sources close to him said that his visit to Delhi has been rescheduled owing to some ‘unavoidable reasons’ and he is now scheduled to leave for Delhi on Tuesday morning for the purpose.

Speculations are rife in the BJP circles that he may be offered a ‘suitable position’ in the party in the wake of resignation of BJP national vice-president Dr Raman Singh from the party post on Sunday.

Former chief minister Dr Singh has stepped down from the party post after he filed nomination for the post of speaker of the Chhattisgarh Assembly.

“However, nothing is clear whether the discussion between Mr Nadda and Mr Chouhan has anything to do with the latter’s political future”, a senior BJP functionary here told this newspaper, unwilling to be quoted.

Mr Chouhan had earlier said that he would not visit Delhi to ask for any position for him from the leadership.

“I would rather die than ask for something for myself”, Mr Chouhan had said after the party leadership chose Dr Mohan Yadav as chief minister shattering his hope of securing a fifth term in power in the state after BJP retained power in Madhya Pradesh in the November 17 Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mr Yadav said that he is not in a hurry to expand his cabinet.

Mr Yadav along with some senior leaders of the party visited Delhi on Sunday to hold discussions with Mr Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah on expansion of his cabinet.

In another development, former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday filed nomination for the post of speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.