Probable Congress CM candidates in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

New Delhi, Dec 10: As Congress is leading in BJP ruled states, discussions have started regarding chief ministerial candidates. Majority of the exit polls had predicted a Congress win in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and a nail-biter finish for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. BJP doesn't have to look for chief minister candidates in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the leadership may or not change in Rajasthan.

The Congress did not announce CM candidates all the states. Let's take a look at probable Congress CM candidates in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh.

Madhya Pradesh:

Kamal Nath: Seniormost Congress leader Kamalnath was elected as the president of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in May 2018 to lead the party in the November-December 2018 assembly election. Kamal Nath is one of the longest-serving and senior most members of Lok Sabha; the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament. Kamal Nath was first elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980. He reentered 8th, the 9th, 10th, 11, 12th, 13th 14th and 15th Lok Sabha.

Jyotiraditya Scindia: Harward graduate Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in February 2002 from Guna District - formerly represented by his father Madhav Rao Scindia. He was re-elected in May 2004 and was introduced to the Union Council of Ministers in 2007 as Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology. He was then re-elected in 2009 for a third consecutive term and became Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. Later, he became Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power.

During an interview to PTI, Scindia said he had covered over 115 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh. Asked if he considers himself as a front-runner for the chief minister's post in case the Congress wins the elections, he said he does not want to answer hypothetical questions.

Rajasthan:

Ashok Gehlot: His return to state politics is being hinted as a contender to CM's post. Gehlot was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013. He hails from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He represents Sardarpura constituency of Jodhpur as Member of Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. As Congress party's national general secretary and in-charge of organizations and training. Gehlot denied tussle with Sachin Pilot with respect to CM's post. Not ruling himself out of the race for the top post in the state should Congress win, Gehlot in an exclusive interview to PTI said he would be open to any role Congress president Rahul Gandhi assigns him in the interest of the party.

Sachin Pilot: The son of senior politician late Rajesh Pilot, Sachi Pilot, was a member of the Lok Sabha's Standing Committee on Home Affairs and member of the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Sachin Pilot has been a former MP from Dausa and then from Ajmer. He is contesting the state poll for the first time from Tonk. At 26, he became an MP. At 31, he was a minister in the Union government. At 35, he is heading the Congress party in Rajasthan.

Chhattisgarh:

Tamardhwaj Sahu: He is contesting from Durg (Rural) assembly constituency, The 69-year-old MP from Durg is a strong OBC leader and a member of the influential Sahu community. He is the lone Lok Sabha member from the state. He won the Indian general election, 2014 being an Indian National Congress candidate.

TS Singhdeo: He is a member of Indian National Congress and the current Leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 3 January 2014. He is an elected member of Chhattisgarh Assembly from Ambikapur He was the richest candidate in the 2013 Assembly Elections.

Bhupesh Baghel: He is a member of Indian National Congress and the current President of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee since October 2014. He is an elected member of Chhattisgarh Assembly. His assembly constituency is Patan (District Durg). Baghel was appointed a minister of state in Digvijay Singh's cabinet (Public Grievance Dept. attached to the CM) in December 1998 and promoted as Minister of Transport in December 1999. He was appointed Chairman of MP State Road Transport Corporation in January 2000. When the state of Chhattisgarh was created by the Government of India in November 2000, Baghel became First Minister for Revenue, Public Health Engineering and relief work (until 2003).