As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveils potential chief minister candidates in Rajasthan, the party's MLAs will convene on Tuesday to decide the state's new leader. Among the prominent contenders are former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Union Ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Ashwini Vaishnaw. The BJP, having already announced chief ministers in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, anticipates resolving the suspense in Rajasthan. Party observers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will meet in Jaipur. The swearing-in ceremony for the chosen leader is expected to take place on Friday following the BJP's triumph in Rajasthan's elections.            

The BJP is set to announce Rajasthan's next Chief Minister on Tuesday after summoning all party MLAs for a meeting in Jaipur. Observers Rajnath Singh, Saroj Pandey, and Vinod Tawde will oversee the proceedings. There is speculation that two-time CM Vasundhara Raje may be sidelined like in Chhattisgarh and MP. Several MLAs have openly supported Raje for CM though BJP contested polls on collective leadership. The delay has heightened anticipation of a new CM face as BJP considers options to appeal to its core vote bank. After legislative party leader is selected, the swearing-in with over 10 ministers is likely on December 15.

The fourth meeting of the INDIA opposition bloc will be held on December 19th in Delhi to chart out seat sharing and finalize joint campaign plans for the 2024 polls. Sources said the parties intend to put forth an alternative, positive agenda while projecting unity with the motto "main nahin, hum" (not I, but us). The slogan earlier created controversy for its use in Congress' 2014 campaign after claims it was first coined by PM Modi. The meeting comes after Congress' poll routs, posing a challenge to formulate an Opposition agenda. The bloc would also give shape to common programmes to take on the BJP as they aim to showcase collective leadership rather than personality-driven politics.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated Mohan Yadav after he was elected BJP legislative leader and next Madhya Pradesh chief minister, saying: "I congratulate my dedicated colleague...I am sure under PM Modi's leadership, you will take MP to new development heights." The 58-year-old Yadav, an OBC leader and Ujjain MLA, was the Higher Education Minister under Chouhan, whose welfare schemes helped his party tap the women's votes in the last elections. Chauhan expressed confidence in CM Yadav to "create new records in the field of public welfare" under the "guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi". Yadav won recent elections by nearly 13,000 votes. His name ended 10-day BJP suspense over the top post after the election, as he was a surprise against other names floated.

The BJP has named Mohan Yadav, 58, a leader from the Yadav OBC community, as the surprise new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Although Yadavs are not the most influential, the OBCs make up over half the state's population. On Monday, Mr. Yadav was elected as the BJP legislative party leader just 15 days after the party's big state election win. The outgoing Higher Education Minister thanked the party, saying "I am a small party worker...I thank the party for this opportunity." Emphasizing unity, Mr. Yadav was nominated by outgoing CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and supported by other senior leaders. State BJP boss VD Sharma said Prahlad Patel, Narendra Tomar, and Kailash Vijayvargiya "supported the proposal."

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court days after being expelled from the Lok Sabha over the 'cash-for-query' controversy. On December 8, the House adopted the Ethics Panel report finding Moitra guilty of accepting illegal gratification to promote a businessman's interests. Moitra denied the charges and accused the committee of "bulldozing" her without proof. She claimed being denied a chance to defend herself when the report was tabled and permission to cross-examine her estranged partner and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who levied the allegations. The West Bengal leader stated the panel disregarded rules and said her expulsion was unjustified without establishing the bribery charges.

As the BJP named Vishnu Deo Sai, a tribal leader as Chhattisgarh's first tribal chief minister, speculation heightened over selection of CMs for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Despite recent buzz, former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and current MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan continue to remain key contenders. The BJP's newly-elected Madhya Pradesh MLAs will meet Monday in Bhopal to choose their legislative party leader, supervised by senior party observers. A similar legislative party meeting of Rajasthan MLAs is likely on Tuesday with different BJP central observers. After following a new leadership trend in Chhattisgarh, the BJP may opt for fresh faces in the remaining states too rather than retaining incumbents Raje and Chouhan. But the veteran leaders still stand as tough competition.

Ahead of the inauguration of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter and BRS MLC K Kavitha on Sunday termed it "a dream come true for crores of Hindus". In a Telugu social media post, Kavitha expressed happiness over the soon-to-open temple, stating that along with the rest of India, Telangana welcomes the auspicious occasion when Lord Ram's idol will be installed. She shared a video of the under-construction temple. The sanctum-sanctorum where the idol will be enthroned is nearly complete, and the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust has decided to place Ram Lalla there between 12-12:45 pm on January 22nd, 2023. Prime Minister Modi will attend next year's inaugural ceremony.

Amid suspense over Rajasthan's next CM, around 10 BJP MLAs including Ajay Singh and Babu Singh, met former CM Vasundhara Raje, a top contender, at her Jaipur home on Sunday. The BJP is yet to call a legislature party meeting to pick its legislative leader in Rajasthan. Earlier, another claimant Yogi Balaknath in an online message asked everyone to ignore the CM buzz around him as he has "yet to gain experience under PM Modi's guidance." Raje, a two-time CM, also recently met party chief JP Nadda in Delhi in a show of strength after several MLAs met her. The BJP has named Rajnath Singh among 3 central observers to oversee the legislature party meeting to elect the CM in Rajasthan. According to some reports, the other names rumored to be considered for the coveted chief ministerial role in Rajasthan are Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Diya Kumari. [Pic: File Photo]

“I will work for 'Sabka Vishwas' & the promises made to the people of Chhattisgarh under 'Modi Ki Guarantee' will be fulfilled," said Vishnu Deo Sai, the newly appointed CM of Chattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai. CM Sai served as state BJP chief from 2020-2022, and was appointed Chhattisgarh's new Chief Minister on Tuesday. He becomes the second tribal CM after Ajit Jogi, who was denotified as tribal in 2019. Sai has a long political career - he was Union Minister of State for Steel in PM Modi's first cabinet and a four-time Lok Sabha MP from Raigarh from 1999-2014. Born in Jashpur as a member of the Kanwar tribe, Sai started in politics as Madhya Pradesh MLA before Chhattisgarh state was formed. In recent polls, he won from Kunkuri defeating Congress' UD Minj. An agriculturist by profession, Sai takes over the reins from Congress' Bhupesh Baghel.