 "Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers celebrate the victory of their party in Uttar Pradesh")
Suspense remained strong on BJP's chief ministerial pick in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as newly elected MLAs set about to meet in Lucknow on Saturday to elect the leader, with Union minister Manoj Sinha among frontrunners. BJP is Bharatiya Janata Party. MLA is member of legislative assembly.
"The new chief minister of UP would take oath on March 19," Governor Ram Naik said in Lucknow.
State BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi told PTI the legislature party meeting will be held on Saturday at Lok Bhawan, the new chief minster's office adjacent to the UP BJP office. Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu and national general-secretary Bhupendra Yadav will remain present at the meeting to elect the chief minister. Home minister Rajnath Singh and state party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya are also seen as nominees.
All these leaders, in their interactions with the media, have played down their chances, with Sinha turning poetic on Friday, citing a verse which translates as "desires are treacherous, and once fulfilled, change".
"Na mujhe kisi race ka pata hai, na main kisi race main hun (neither do I know about any race, nor am I in any race)," Sinha told reporters outside Parliament when asked if he was in the race to become the chief minister of the country's politically most important state.
Maurya, who was discharged following his hospitalisation on Thursday after he complained of uneasiness, is seen as a favourite if the party opts for an OBC (Other Backward Class) face.
He parried questions and said the state legislature party will decide on the chief minister on Saturday.
"Legislature party will decide who will be the chief minister. The oath-taking ceremony will be on March 19 and all national leaders of the party will attend the ceremony," he told reporters.
"If the name of the new chief minister is revealed before the meeting of the newly-elected MLAs, then the relevance and sanctity of the meeting would be lost," he said. The home minister, several leaders said, is a natural contender due to his profile and vast administrative experience.
With the BJP leadership often springing a surprise with its choice of state leaders like Manohar Lal Khattar and Vijay Rupani, both of whom were not among the favourites to lead governments in Haryana and Gujarat, sources said a relatively lesser known leader cannot be ruled out.
The central observers will most likely inform the MLAs about the BJP top brass's choice, which will be endorsed at the meeting on Saturday.
