Assembly polls: Who are the CM hopefuls from BJP, Congress in 4 states?

With the BJP set to form governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh and the Congress in Telangana, all eyes are now on the possible chief minister hopefuls in the four states.

Telangana

Revanth Reddy, who led the Congress campaign that dethroned the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), is most likely to grab the mantle although the party did not name anyone before the polling. Formerly with the TDP, Reddy, now 54, joined the Congress in 2017 and was elected to parliament in 2019. He was appointed head of the Congress in Telangana in June 2021.

Chhattisgarh

The soft-spoken Raman Singh, who was chief minister of Chhattisgarh from 2003 to 2018, will be the frontrunner for the top post although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not named a chief ministerial face. Raman Singh is the party’s national vice-president and is widely known to be a good administrator. He is now 71.

Other probables are Arun Sao and Renuka Singh.

Madhya Pradesh

Although it was believed that he was being sidelined by the BJP ahead of the elections, the smashing electoral victory could see chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan continue to be in the saddle when a new government is formed. Now 64, Chouhan is, like Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh, an old party war horse. But there could be surprises when the BJP actually picks a name to govern Madhya Pradesh for the next five years.

Other likely candidates are: Prahlad Patel, Narendra Singh Tomar, Riti Pathak

Rajasthan

Although a BJP victory in the state was widely expected, what is not clear is who will be the chief minister. The BJP leadership did not portray former chief minister Vasundhara Raje as the chief ministerial face because of her apparent differences with the central leadership. While she could still be considered for the post, the other contenders will include Mahant Balak Nath, a 39-year-old MP from Alwar who contested the Assembly elections, and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.