After win, Uttar Pradesh eargerly awaits announcement of new CM

LUCKNOW: Who will be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh? The answer is eagerly awaited as the holder of the post will play a key role in how BJP fares in the Lok Sabha polls just two years away.

While senior party leaders at both the state and central levels are tight-lipped, the rumour mills started churning once the result became inevitable.

Those in the running are supposed to be Bhumihar leader Manoj Sinha; Kurmi leaders Santosh Gangwar and Swatantra Dev; Suresh Khanna, who became an MLA for the eighth time from Shahjahanpur; and Siddharth Nath Singh, BJP national secretary, who won from Allahabad West. Dev did not contest.

But opinion was unanimous that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah will take the final call after consulting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi could even spring a surprise and choose a leader not seen as being in the reckoning, they said. Shah has already held a round of talks with two senior RSS leaders on the issue, said people with knowledge of the matter.

The party is expected to announce the chief minister after Holi, though the parliamentary board is meeting on Sunday evening to discuss the issue.

The first matter to be settled is whether the party should choose an upper caste or backward caste chief minister. The latter is more of a possibility, argued party leaders on condition of anonymity, given that BJP rode to victory on the support of most backward castes.

Even in 1991, when the party got its first clear majority, Kalyan Singh, a Lodh backward leader, was chosen as chief minister. A leader from a caste that is not numerically strong is also a possibility. This formula was adopted in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, where the governments are headed by Devendra Fadnavis, a Brahmin, Manohar Lal Khattar, a non-Jat, and Raghubar Das, a non-tribal, respectively.

Going by this logic, Manoj Sinha, one of the union ministers who looks after Modi’s constituency Varanasi, may make the cut. Bhumihars constitute 2.5% of the electorate in UP.

Also Read: ​ All the updates, reactions and analytical takes on Assembly election results

Swatantra Dev, a long-time BJP worker, had previously been tipped to become state party chief until Keshav Prasad Maurya was selected. Dev left for Delhi before the results came out, leading to speculation in Lucknow that he could be the chosen one.

Maurya’s name is also doing the rounds. Slogans of “Mukhyamantri kaisa ho, Keshav Maurya jaisa ho” were raised by his supporters in the BJP office in Lucknow. Incidentally, Fadnavis was Maharashtra BJP chief before becoming chief minister.

Union minister Gangwar and Khanna, too, are seen as probable candidates though many feel the latter may be made the Vidhan Sabha speaker due to his experience.

Shah had announced at a few public meetings that national secretary Singh will be given an important responsibility. A Kayastha, Singh is the grandson of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Kayasthas supported Congress decades ago, but are now by and large with BJP.