Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh CM Race: Top Contenders, Likely Date For Oath Ceremony

Amid the suspense over the announcement of the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers' names, reports surfaced on social media suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may announce the final names by Monday. The party has already placed central observers for the three states, who will submit their report to the top leadership by Sunday, after which, the party is likely to make the big announcement. If the media reports are to be believed, then the swearing-in ceremonies for all three states, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, will be concluded before December 15 citing Malmas also known as Kharmas, which is considered an inauspicious time when all auspicious activities are forbidden according to the Hindu rituals.

If the party did not finalize the name before December 15, then they have to wait for almost a month.

In the race for Chief Ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, prominent leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Prahlad Singh Patel, Vasundhara Raje, Mahant Balak Nath, Diya Kumari, Raman Singh, Arjun Munda, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Dushyant Kumar Gautam are battling up.

The reports suggest that the BJP may opt for fresh and young faces keeping the strategy for 2024 Lok Sabha polls in mind.

Assuming the assembly elections semi-final before the Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party contested the election without announcing any Chief Minister face, and it was a collective effort by party cadre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.

In Rajasthan, BJP won 115 seats to dethrone Ashok Gehlot's Congress government, while the party emerged victorious on 163 seats out of 199 in Madhya Pradesh. It was a shocker for Congress in Chhattisgarh too as the BJP sprung 54 seats.