BJP ‘offers’ Rajnath UP CM’s post
THE BUZZ Amit Shah has an informal word with Rajnath Singh
LUCKNOW: BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday approached union home minister Rajnath Singh purportedly to know whether he would be willing to become Uttar Pradesh chief minister. However, Rajnath, an MP from Lucknow, is still to make up his mind. The two leaders met in New Delhi.
The party believes that a mature leader was required in UP to do justice to the massive mandate it received in the state. Unless he declines, Rajnath is being considered a front-runner for the CM’s post.
Other names doing the rounds for the post include UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC and union minister Manoj Sinha, a Bhumihar.
LUCKNOW : Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) landslide win in Uttar Pradesh (UP) also throws up a challenge.
The party has to find a chief minister capable of managing not just the diverse flock, given the number of turncoats who have won on the party ticket, but also controlling the state’s seasoned bureaucrats.
The party hasn’t zeroed in on any particular name though sources said BJP chief Amit Shah had an informal word with union home minister Rajnath Singh on the possibility of taking up the UP assignment. There is no word yet on this from Singh.
A senior BJP lawmaker from east UP said the party would also discuss its potential CM-picks for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) top brass.
The delay in clearing the party’s CM-pick for UP has partially been forced because of party’s immediate focus on government formation in Goa and Manipur, the two states where it failed to reach a majority.
The delay is also because BJP wants to make sure that the UP CM’s pick is someone who can do justice to the massive mandate the party has got in UP.
The chosen one will be expected to ensure a rich harvest from UP in 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks another five-year term to carry forward his development agenda. The 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the 2017 UP assembly polls have set the bar high. The BJP plus allies swept UP with 73 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 325 of the 403 seats this year.
“Meeting and maintaining the high expectations will be tough as any substantial dip in the BJP’s tally from UP in 2019 will go adversely against the new CM,” says a BJP insider.
What’s more, having come to
If Rajnathji is asked to take over, it will surely mean the party wants a mature leader to run the show in UP A PARTY LEADER
power on the promise of controlling crime and rooting out corruption, the new CM will be tested from day one on BJP’s ability to deliver.
Interestingly, the state’s bureaucrats too were busy speculating. One of them said, “Union minister Manoj Sinha, the MP from Ghazipur.”
The new CM will face the first test in local bodies’ polls due in May. Interestingly, the BJP’s big win in UP has largely happened due to consolidation of non-Yadav OBCs and a substantial chunk of Dalit voters.
“Though it’s the job of the party high command to take a call on the new CM, it will be logical to expect that the new leader should be from either of these communities,” says BJP’s vocal MP from Unnao Sakshi Maharaj.
The BJP’s Phulpur MP and the state’s 48-year old party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC who held over 200 rallies to ensure consolidation of backward votes, is among the favourites for he was the personal choice of BJP chief Amit Shah.
“He is among the favourites but if he misses out it will be mainly due to his inexperience in managing the administration,” said a source. Suresh Khanna, 56, an eight-term lawmaker from Shahjahanpur, is also being considered as among the hopefuls for his caste-neutral edge and clean image. Lucknow mayor and party vice president Dinesh Sharma, Mathura MLA Shrikant Sharma and union minister Mahesh Sharma are in the race too. But if he agrees, Rajnath will be the preferred one.
“If Rajnathji is asked to take over, it will surely mean the party wants a mature leader to run the show in UP. Since he also will have the backing of the RSS, I guess Rajnathji will be best suited for UP,” a party leader said. Rajnath could also be helpful for the party given the fact that it has done well even in Muslim-dominated regions.