Cong in huddle to pick CMs
OVER TO RAHUL Newly elected MLAs leave leadership decision to Cong chief OPPN SUPPORT Party gets backing of non-BJP legislators in MP, Rajasthan
NEW DELHI/BHOPAL/JAIPUR: A day after the Congress defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the focus of the party leadership shifted to chief ministerial aspirants in the three states, where newly elected legislators on Wednesday authorised party president Rahul Gandhi to take the final call. Gandhi is expected to clear the names on Thursday between claimants for the top job.
In MP and Rajasthan, the party faces a directional choice between the experience of two veterans and the dynamism of two young leaders in their forties.
Former Union minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath, 72, and the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha and campaign committee chief for the state, Jyotiraditya Scindia, 47, are the front-runners for the post in Madhya Pradesh. Both did not contest the assembly elections.
Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot and state party chief Sachin Pilot are in the race for the chief minister’s post in Rajasthan. Both contested the assembly elections, with Gehlot retaining Sardarpura and Pilot emerging victorious from Tonk.
In MP, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) passed a one-line resolution authorising Gandhi to name the new chief minister. The party’s central observer, AK Antony, separately met the legislators in Bhopal to seek their views on the issue.
A similar script played out in Rajasthan. Other than passing a resolution, the new Congress MLAs listed their choices for the CM in a one-on-one meeting with the party’s central observer, KC Venugopal.
“The observer started the conversation, asking about the election, [the legislator’s] political background and then asked the opinion [on who should be CM]. The process took 3-4 minutes,” said a legislator who did not want to be named. The Congress was one short of a clear majority in Rajasthan, winning 99 of the 199 seats for which polls were held. The BJP won 73 seats, while independents won 13. All the 13 independents and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), with six seats, have pledged their support to the Congress.
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi described the party’s good showing in the Hindi heartland states as a victory over the BJP’s “negative politics”.