A senior state BJP functionary said the meeting of the newly-elected MLAs is likely to be held on Sunday. On Thursday night, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya told reporters here that the “suspense” over the chief minister would end on Sunday.

The ‘suspense’  over the Chief Minister is likely to end on Sunday, days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections when the party’s 163 newly-elected MLAs will meet in the presence of central observers to elect their leader. The BJP on Friday appointed Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar,  its OBC Morcha chief K Laxman, and secretary Asha Lakra as central observers to elect its legislature party leader in Madhya Pradesh.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP contested the November  17 assembly elections this time without projecting incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Chief Minister’s face. It happened after  20 years that the party did not announce the name of its chief ministerial candidate before the elections in Madhya Pradesh. According to news agency PTI, A senior state BJP functionary said the meeting of the newly-elected MLAs is likely to be held on Sunday. On Thursday night, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya told reporters here that the “suspense”  over the chief minister would end on Sunday.

According to party insiders, if the BJP replaces Shivraj,  it may focus on an Other Backward Class (OBC) chief minister. Chouhan is also the longest-serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. According to him, in such a situation Prahlad Patel can be the frontrunner for the post of Chief Minister. He was elected from Narsinghpur assembly seat and resigned as Union minister. He belongs to the Lodhi community and is part of the Lodhi Other OBCs. Meanwhile, Patel has reached Bhopal from Delhi.

Given the fact that the OBC population in Madhya Pradesh is more than  48%. The BJP leadership has gone with OBC leaders vying for the top post in the state since  2003. Earlier, he had promoted Uma Bharti, who is a Lodhi.  A year later, the party placed its bets on another OBC, Babulal Gaur, and then on Chouhan in  2004. According to party insiders, Vijayvargiya and BJP state chief VD Sharma are the other probable candidates. The name of Narendra Tomar is also in discussion for the post of Chief Minister. He was elected from Dimani and resigned as a Union minister.

The four big heavyweights Patel, Tomar, Vijayvargiya, and VD Sharma have already met Home Minister and BJP’s master strategist Amit Shah in New Delhi. He also met BJP president JP Nadda. These leaders have publicly denied that they are in the race to become the Chief Minister.