BJP CM… A New Trend, Senior Leaders Pushed Aside!

For the first time, BJP has given an opportunity to Rekha Gupta, who won as an MLA at the age of 50. This seems like an unexpected opportunity for her. In recent times, the BJP has completely stopped announcing Chief Minister candidates before elections. It has become rare for the BJP to declare a CM candidate before elections in any state. After elections, if a chance arises, the party has been promoting unexpected names for CM positions. In some states, even when senior leaders were in the running, the BJP has sidelined them and offered the CM position to new faces.

For example, in Karnataka, there was a long wait with rumors about replacing Yediyurappa. Finally, they made him resign and appointed someone else as the CM ahead of the elections. During the election campaign, Modi himself was presented as the CM candidate, but the BJP did not officially announce a candidate before the elections. Since the BJP lost the elections there, the question of who would become the CM remained unanswered.

Similarly, in Delhi, not only Rekha Gupta, but many surprising selections have taken place in recent times. In Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was expected to be the CM candidate. However, after the fall of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath, the BJP gave the opportunity to a senior leader, Chouhan, who had served as CM in the past. But, after the election results, despite Chouhan being the most experienced, BJP surprised everyone by making someone less known, like Mohan Yadav, the new CM.

In Chhattisgarh, many senior BJP leaders were vying for the CM post, but the party selected Vishnu Deo Sai. In Rajasthan, former CM Vasundhara Raje and Gajendra Shekhawat were considered for the position, but the party surprisingly chose Bhajan Lal Sharma.

In Odisha, after years of BJD rule, BJP came to power unexpectedly by giving Mohan Charan Majhi a chance. Similarly, in Maharashtra, the BJP did not announce a CM candidate before the elections. Though they went to elections in a coalition, they did not name their CM candidate. But after the elections, the party gave the CM position to former CM Fadnavis, even though they had supported Shinde before the elections.

In Haryana in 2014, BJP made Manohar Lal Khattar, a first-time MLA, the Chief Minister, mainly due to his closeness to Modi and experience with the RSS. This trend of giving the CM post to first-time MLAs started at that time and has continued.

In Rajasthan, during the Legislative Party meeting, Bhajan Lal Sharma, a first-time MLA, was seated at the very end of the room. Though senior leaders traditionally sit at the front, the CM post was given to the new MLA who was seated at the back.

Now, the question arises: Is this a new strategy by BJP to give opportunities to fresh faces, or is it that the BJP leadership, under the central command, is continuing to give opportunities to those whom no one would have expected? This is an intriguing question!