After 15-long-years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is back in Uttar Pradesh. Most exit polls had predicted a hung assembly in the state but contrary to what was expected, the party showcased a miraculous victory leaving behind the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance as well the Bahujan Samaj Party by a huge margin.
While Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Manoj Sinha and even Yogi Adityanath are doing the rounds, the most likely name for the chief ministerial post is that of state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya.
- Maurya, who belongs to the Most Backward Caste, led the party from the front in the 2017 assembly polls. He is being credited to have brought the most backward castes to the BJP camp.
- He is BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Phoolpur in Allahabad. He travelled from one place to another throughout the year campaigning for the party.
- It is said that it was BJP President Amit Shah’s poll strategy which led to Maurya being named as the state unit chief pepped up the MBC voters. The Phoolpur MP lived up to his expectations and is now emerging as a front runner to sit on the coveted chair of the Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh.
Rajnath Singh, who was earlier too offered to lead the charge of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, is also a contender for the top post. Singh who served as the CM for a little over one year between 2001 and 2002 is unlikely to be one of the favourites.
Also Read: Other possible CM candidates for BJP
The BJP Parliamentary Board is slated to meet in New Delhi later on Saturday to discuss who will become the Chief Minister. A final decision is, however, likely to be taken after Holi on March 13 when the state BJP legislature party meets.
