Naa mujhe kisi race ka pata hai, naa main kisi race mein hun (Neither am I aware of any race, nor am I in any race): Manoj Sinha
A day before the BJP’s 312 newly elected MLAs are to meet in Lucknow, speculation was rife in the corridors of Parliament over who would be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
All eyes were on the possible contenders for the post. Confronted with questions from the media outside Parliament, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, a front-runner, said, “Naa mujhe kisi race ka pata hai, naa main kisi race mein hun (Neither am I aware of any race, nor am I in any race).”
However, Sinha’s statement can be read such that he is avoiding pitching himself for the top post in UP. By Friday evening, he left for Ghazipur, his Lok Sabha constituency, where he spends most of his weekends, leaving everyone guessing whether he will return to Parliament on Monday or be elected to the throne of Lucknow.
According to sources, around 12 to 15 MLAs were likely to take oath as ministers after the swearing-in of the Chief Minister on Sunday.
While Sinha, with his untainted image and popularity within the party and outside, had an edge over others whose names were in the list of contenders, there has been speculation over whether the BJP would prefer to name a leader from the backward castes, a large chunk of who voted for the party. However, BJP chief Amit Shah had been categorical after the results that the decision would be based purely on merit.
A Bhumihar, which is a community constituting just 1-2 per cent of the state’s population, Sinha is seen to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, as well as to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, whose name was also being speculated.
Going by past instances, the possibility of a dark horse emerging as the party’s choice was not being ruled out.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders were tight-lipped about the issue. One of the central observers — Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu — who is to be present on Saturday for the legislative party meeting — had left for Mumbai, from where he would be flying to Lucknow.
The other observer, BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, refused to give any hint as to who could be the new UP Chief Minister. “You will get to know by Saturday evening,” he told reporters.
The chances of the party’s state chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, who belongs to the OBC community, seem to have waned, with Shah saying that he would choose the Chief Minister.
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 "Manoj Sinha")
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