New Delhi: After her meetings with the BJP top brass, including party president J.P. Nadda and union home minister Amit Shah, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Sunday reached Jaipur where upon her arrival a number of party MLAs and leaders met her. Raje arrived in the national capital on Thursday amid speculation that the BJP central leadership wants “new faces” as the CMs in all the three states it won in the recently concluded Assembly elections. The legislature party meeting in Rajasthan could take place on Tuesday.
The party has named a “new face” Vishnu Deo Sai as its CM in Chattisgarh where the name of former CM Raman Singh was also doing the round for the post. Ahead of the legislature party meeting, Nadda had held a meeting with the party’s winning MLAs through video conferencing, which the party claimed was to discuss organisational activities.
Raje was seen as the frontrunner for the CM post and along with her name, names of other leaders including union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, member of the Jaipur royal family Diya Singh are also doing the round.
With Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expected to be in his Lok Sabha constituency Lucknow on Monday as President Droupadi Murmu will be on a visit there, the BJP legislature party meeting is likely to be held on Tuesday. Mr Singh is the BJP's central observer in the state along with national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey.
The BJP is yet to announce the meeting of the legislature party in Rajasthan to choose its leader, who will be the chief minister.
Earlier, on Monday and Tuesday, several BJP MLAs had met Ms Raje in Jaipur and the meetings were seen by many as a show of strength. She was then asked by the central leadership to reach Delhi, where she met the BJP top brass.
The BJP bagged 115 seats while the Congress secured 69 seats in the recently concluded Assembly poll. Election on 199 out of 200 seats in the state was held on November 25.
Polling in one constituency Karanpur, where the polling was adjourned due to the demise of the Congress candidate, will be held on January 5 and results will be declared on January 8.
