BJP likely to decide UP CM only by next week

New Delhi: The BJP top brass, particularly party chief Amit Shah, kept the suspense ticking over the choice of its chief minister in Uttar Pradesh. Speculation is rife that a final decision will be taken only by early next week, after the trust votes in both the Goa and Manipur Assemblies are over.

As the suspense continued over the top job in Lucknow, a section within the party is pitching for two deputy chief ministerial posts. One is expected to be from a backward caste, while the other could be from the upper castes. The supporters of Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath, who had been mounting pressure on the BJP leadership to put him at the helm of the UP government, now want him to at least get the post of deputy chief minister. Another name doing the rounds for deputy CM from the BJP quota is of Maharjpur MP Satish Mahana. BJP ally Suheldev Rashtriya Samaj Party could get the second deputy CM post.

While various names are in play, the BJP president is said to be holding parleys with RSS leaders to finalise a name. Sources said that even if Mr Shah was likely to function as a “super CM”, the candidate for the top post would have to be “selected carefully”. Any heavyweight from the Centre, if pushed to take charge of UP, “might not always be willing to toe the Shah line”. A senior BJP leader said: “Therefore we need to select someone who will toe the central leadership’s line when asked to”.

While the party leadership is tight-lipped, there is also a race going on for ministerial posts among the newly-elected MLAs. Some ministerships are likely to go to the Apna Dal, and to those who had switched over to the BJP from other parties. Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh, who won with the highest margin, is expected to get a Cabinet berth.

Brajesh Pathak and Rita Bahuguna, who switched over from the BSP and the Congress respectively, could also be considered for Cabinet berths, sources said.

There is some speculation that eight-time Shajanahpur MLA Suresh Khanna is certain to get a Cabinet berth, and his name is also circulating among the CM contenders.

“He could be the dark horse,” a senior party leader said. Mr Khanna had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the elections.

Others names being considered for ministerial berths include former BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, Varanasi North MLA Ravindra Jaisawal and Satya Pal Singh Baghel, a former BSP member who won the Tundla seat, among others. “A clean image is a must” for anyone hoping to get into the UP Cabinet, sources said. The names of two prominent figures who were sent from the Centre to contest the UP elections are also being considered for key UP portfolios, the sources added.