BJP observers for MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh likely on Friday

New Delhi: The suspense over who would be chief ministers of MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh continued on Thursday, even as Union minister Renuka Singh and Mahant Balaknath, the two remaining BJP MPs elected as MLAs, resigned from the Lok Sabha.

All three ministers elected to assemblies, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Renuka Singh, have resigned from the Union Cabinet too. Tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda was given additional charge of Tomar's agriculture ministry. MoS for agriculture Shobha Karandlaje was given additional charge of MoS Patel's food processing ministry, while MoS for skill development Rajeev Chandrasekhar was given Patel's Jal Shakti portfolio. Renuka Singh's MoS portfolio of tribal affairs was allotted to MoS health Bharti Pawar.

BJP insiders indicated that the party was likely to announce on Friday observers for the three states to oversee the respective legislative party meetings, which were unlikely to be held before Sunday. They will oversee meetings of the newly elected MLAs. While deciding on CMs, the leadership would consider social and regional equations, organisation's interest and administrative and political capabilities of the individual, a senior BJP leader said and added that no name has been finalised yet.


In a related development, former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje held over two hours of talks with BJP chief JP Nadda on Thursday evening.