Who will be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (if BJP wins)
As the exit polls predict a clean sweep by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the scramble to pick a worthy chief minister who can shoulder the responsibility is already creating a buzz in the political and media circles.
According to the India Today-Axis My India Exit Polls, the BJP is expected to get about 251-270 seats in UP. This, despite having no CM face in the election campaign, and banking solely on Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s campaigning skills.
Now that the results are around the corner, who are the possible CM faces from the BJP camp? Here’s a look at the contenders who will lead UP from Lucknow central.
Rajnath Singh
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| Photo: Indiatoday.in |
The Union home minister of India and the second tallest leader in the NDA government, Rajnath Singh has been a formidable name to represent and lead BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Well respected all over and one of the few leaders with a clean face, Rajnath’s appeal couldn’t be doubted.
However, he could be asked to be the CM face only if the BJP falls short of the magic 202 seats to form simple majority in the Assembly. It is said that Rajnath’s stature can then be utilised to forge a post-poll alliance with a smaller party, or obtain external support for a minority government in case of a hung assembly.
But would the Union minister, who has been credited with a smooth functioning of the home ministry, leave his cushy cabinet post and take up a role, no matter how prominent and prestigious, at the state level? Rajnath hasn’t publicly commented on this except to say that there hasn’t been an official request from the prime minister on this issue.
Keshav Prasad Maurya
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| Photo: Indiatoday.in |
He’s the state BJP president in Uttar Pradesh and a prominent leader of the Maurya caste, the largest demographic segment among the non-Yadav OBCs. He’s close to the major Sangh Parivar leaders, as well as to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah.
Keshav Prasad Maurya is credited with conducting the most number of campaign rallies and has campaigned in no less than 206 assembly constituencies. His organisational skills are well recognised.
However, there are a number of court cases against Maurya, some of which happen to be criminal cases, even though he dismisses them as politically motivated slandering.
Dinesh Sharma
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| Photo: Indiatoday.in |
Dinesh Sharma comes from an RSS-affiliated family and is a Brahmin face of the party. He’s the mayor of Lucknow and the party vice-president in Uttar Pradesh, as well as holds a significant position in the Gujarat BJP.
He’s close to PM Modi, and it was on his invitation that Modi had attended the Lucknow Ramlila in October last year. However, Sharma has mostly been a behind-the-scenes person, who has shied away from publicity and media attention.
He has never fought an election, has never been nominated as an MLA or MP either.
Yogi Adityanath
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| Photo: Indiatoday.in |
He’s the firebrand leader of the party and a prominent face of the Hindutva campaign. He has been an MP from Gorakhpur and is a big draw in the Purvanchal region for his overt communal speeches.
He has been a part of ABVP during his student years as well.
However, he had demanded the post of the UP chief minister previously as well, and is perceived to be very ambitious. Will that tick Modi-Shah off? We need to wait and watch.
Manoj Sinha
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| Photo: Indiatoday.in |
He’s from the Gazipur region of eastern UP and belongs to the Bhumihar caste. Manoj Sinha has been the state railway minister and in that capacity has earned praise from PM Modi.
Sinha has been the student union leader during his years at Banahas Hindu University, and is known for his affable nature.
But he’s not deemed to be a big enough leader within UP to bag the CM post.