UP BJP legislature party likely to meet on March 16

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh BJP legislature party is likely to meet here on March 16 to decide who would be the next chief minister of the key Hindi heartland state, days after the party's landslide victory.

The saffron party is set to return to power in the state after a decade-and-a-half.

The party's central observers, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, would be present at the meeting.

The secretary of the Parliamentary Board and Union Minister J P Nadda had said after its meeting on Sunday that BJP chief Amit Shah has been authorised to choose the next chief minister. He said the central observers would consult the MLAs and report to Shah, who will take the final decision.

The names of several probables, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had led the BJP government in the state in the past, were doing the rounds at the state party office.

Though Singh (65) is still regarded as a good choice for the key post given his vast experience and popularity, he appears reluctant about shifting back to state politics.

Moreover, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar having moved over to Goa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not want to lose another senior member of his cabinet.

"Ram, Ram," was Singh's response to a journalist's query as to whether he was a contender for the chief minister's post, remark that many interpreted as showing his unwillingness to return to UP politics.

Another name doing the rounds is that of Manoj Sinha (57), the Minister of State for Railways. An upper caste Bhumihar, he belongs to Poorvanchal, the area which is in the focus of the BJP. Prime Minister Modi's Varanasi constituency is also part of Poorvanchal.

Regarded as a dedicated and quiet worker, he is considered close to the top party leadership and many feel he has a fair chance if the party decides against showing preference for an OBC face.

A large number of non-Yadav backward castes voted for BJP in the assembly election and the party's state unit president Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC, is a top contender for chief ministership.