BJP mulls over probable CM candidate in MP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership is mulling over the Chief Minister candidate as the party looks all set to form the government in Madhya Pradesh after the Congress government collapsed following the resignation of Kamal Nath from the Chief Minister's post just ahead of the floor test.

There has been a high voltage political drama in the state for the last 15 days as 22 rebel Congress MLAs resigned after Jyotiraditya Scidia quit the Congress and joined the BJP. After Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati accepted the resignations of all the 22 MLAs, it was almost confirmed that the Congress government would fall.

Kamal Nath resigned from the Chief Minister's post as he didn't have the requisite number of MLAs to prove his majority.

Now, the doors are open for the BJP as it has 106 MLAs while the majority mark is 103.

Sources in the BJP said the top leadership is mulling over the name of the Legislative party leader. Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is among the favourites but some leaders want to bet on a new face due to the bypolls in 25 Assembly seats.

Chouhan would like to step back as he faced the maximum accusations from the Kamal Nath-led government, sources said.

The party might think of someone who comes from the Backward class, sources said.

Former minister Narottam Mishra said the Congress government was in a minority so it had to collapse while the party will decide about the Legislative party leader in the state. IANS