Amid suspense over BJP's chief ministerial choice for Rajasthan, where it dethroned the Congress, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has emerged as a frontrunner for the role, sources told ABP News. Vaishnaw, who holds the Railways, Communications and Information Technology portfolios, was born in Rajasthan.
While it has been four days since the results of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan were announced, confusion prevails over BJP's CM pick. Decision has not also been taken regarding the BJP legislature party meeting as well.
Apart from Vaishnaw, other names doing the rounds for the CM post are Vasundhara Raje, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Rajasthan BJP's state unit chief CP Joshi and Baba Balaknath.
Vaishnaw, who has a diverse experience in bureaucracy and the corporate world, has been a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha since June 2019. The 1994-batch IAS officer, who served as a collector in Cuttack and Balasore, became close to the BJP while working in the Prime Minister's Office during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's administration. Vaishnaw also has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, former Rajasthan CM Raje, who arrived in Delhi, is slated to meet BJP chief JP Nadda in the evening amid rumours that the veteran leader is not ready to back down from being a claimant to the CM post. Vasundhara Raje is eyeing a third term as CM after the BJP wrested the desert state, which maintained its 'resolving door' trend, by winning 115 seats in the 200-member Assembly. The Congress was reduced to 69 seats.
The dilemma comes as BJP, for the first time in Rajasthan, did not declare its CM candidate and contested the election with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its face. On Tuesday, BJP president JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah met PM Modi to zero in on their CM choice.