Ten of 12 BJP MPs who contested and won seats in November’s state elections – including union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel – resigned from Parliament on Wednesday, and will also step down from the cabinet. Prahlad Patel, who is, for now, Minister of State for Food Processing, told news agency ANI, “I have resigned as MP and will resign from cabinet soon.”

The resignations were procedural, NDTV has been told, since the Constitution does not allow an individual to function both as a Member of Parliament and Legislative Assembly of a state.

The two who have not yet resigned – Baba Balaknath from Rajasthan’s Alwar and Renuka Singh from Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja – are expected to do so shortly, NDTV was told.

Many of the BJP leaders who quit Parliament today are believed to be in the race to become chief ministers of the three states the party won on Sunday – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh.

Their resignations have ramped up speculation the party could make these announcements shortly, perhaps even today. BJP sources told NDTV this morning the party may choose new faces, ruling out a fifth term for Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Chouhan. The two other states were held by the Congress.

READ | Veterans In Chief Minister Race in 3 States, But BJP May Go For New Faces

A nearly five-hour meeting, attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party boss JP Nadda, was held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home in Delhi today.

The BJP – which routed the Congress in three states and was, in turn, beaten in two others – fielded 21 MPs, including five union ministers, across the five elections held last month. The party had seven MPs each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, four in Chhattisgarh, and three in Telangana.

READ | From 3rd Front Dreams To Telangana Crash: KCR’s Big Reversal

None of the BJP’s big faces in Telangana managed a win; the party itself was routed in the southern state, winning just eight of the 111 seats it contested, and left watching as the Congress scored big.

Three BJP MPs lost in Rajasthan, two in Madhya Pradesh, and one in Chhattisgarh.

Some of the (now ex-) BJP parliamentarians fielded, apart from Mr Tomar and Mr Patel, were Baba Balaknath, Diya Kumari and Kirori Lal Meena in Rajasthan, and Vijay Baghel in Chhattisgarh.

The trio from Rajasthan won their seats but Mr Baghel – up against his uncle and outgoing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel – lost. The BJP also fielded two union ministers in Chhattisgarh – Renuka Singh and Gomti Sai. Ms Singh won from Bharatpur-Sonahat and Ms Sai from Pathalgaon.

READ | The 7 BJP Frontrunners For Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Post

The only union minister who failed to make the grade was Faggan Singh Kulaste, the Minister of State for Tribal Development. He lost from Madhya Pradesh’s Niwas seat.

The Congress also fielded MPs, including Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy in Telangana. Both won their respective seats and the party now has 14 days to decide which seat each will hold.

In the case of Revanth Reddy the choice has been made; the 56-year-old, who won the Kodangal seat, will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister on Thursday, meaning he too will resign his MP seat.

READ | Revanth Reddy: Next Telangana Chief Minister Once Had Egg Thrown At Him

A similar logic is likely at play within the BJP in Rajasthan, where Baba Balaknath, Kirori Lal Meena, and Diya Kumari among the seven big names in the race to succeed Ashok Gehlot to the top post.

In Madhya Pradesh, Mr Patel and Mr Tomar are in the race to head the government.

With input from agencies

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The crucial issue of picking Chief Ministers for three heartland states ahead of next year’s general elections started today with a mega meeting of BJP’s top leaders at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence. Besides PM Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, the meeting is being attended by 12 MPs who resigned from parliament after winning the assembly polls.

Today’s session is the second consecutive meet — yesterday the leaders had been in in a four-hour huddle.

Earlier this week, the BJP wrested Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress and retained its hold on Madhya Pradesh amid a buzz on anti-incumbency.

In all three states, the party had gone into polls without a Chief Ministerial candidate, contesting under the banner of PM Modi — a move that delivered in spades.

Now with the victory, the knotty question of who would helm the states has come up. The brain-storming has been on since Sunday, feeding speculation about a hunt for new faces.

The tallest leaders of the states — Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan, Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh and four-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj singh, while being in the running, have left the decision to the Central leadership.

Of these, Madhya Pradesh has the longest list of contenders. Besides Ms Raje, the front-runners include Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, part veteran Kirori Lal Meena and state BJP chief CP Joshi.
 

Pranab Mukherjee questioned Rahul Gandhi’s ability to lead the Congress and was disappointed by his “frequent disappearing acts”, reveals a new book written by Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmishtha Mukherjee.

In the book “Pranab My Father”, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, a former Congress leader, shares her father’s critical comments on Rahul Gandhi and his take on his relationship with the Gandhi family.

“One morning, during Pranab’s usual morning walk in the Mughal Gardens (now Amrit Udyan), Rahul came to see him. Pranab disliked any interruptions during his morning walks and puja. Nevertheless, he decided to meet him. It turned out that Rahul was actually scheduled to meet Pranab later in the evening, but his (Rahul’s) office mistakenly informed him that the meeting was in the morning. I came to know about the incident from one of the ADCs. When I asked my father, he commented sardonically, ‘If Rahul’s office can’t differentiate between ‘a.m’ and ‘p.m’, how do they hope to run the PMO one day?'”

The book features pages of Pranab Mukherjee’s diary, which includes his thoughts and ideas on contemporary Indian politics. The former President, who died in 2020, worked with three generations of Gandhis and held top ministries in the government over an illustrious career spanning decades.

Pranab Mukherjee was Finance and Defence Minister in the Congress-led UPA government during the years Rahul Gandhi was starting his political journey as an MP from Amethi.

The book refers to an incident that left Pranab Mukherjee dismayed and wondering about Rahul Gandhi. He “was conspicuously absent during the flag-raising ceremony at the AICC on the party’s 130th Foundation Day on 28 December 2014, barely six months after the Congress’s loss in the general elections”, writes Sharmishtha Mukherjee.

Pranab Mukherjee, according to his daughter, noted in his diary, “Rahul was not present at the AICC function. I don’t know the reason but many such incidents happened. As he got everything so easily, he doesn’t value it. Soniaji is bent upon making her son the successor but the young man’s lack of charisma and political understanding is creating a problem. Can he revive the Congress? Can he inspire people? I don’t know”.

The Congress veteran was “disappointed with Rahul’s frequent disappearing acts”, writes Sharmishtha Mukherjee, especially as he personally didn’t take time off and diligently attended all official and party events. “He felt that Rahul’s frequent breaks during a crucial period of the party were causing him to lose the perception battle.”

But while commenting on her father’s criticism, Sharmishtha Mukherjee also writes: “Though Pranab was critical of Rahul and seemed to have lost faith in his ability to revive the Congress, one thing is undeniable. Had Pranab been alive today, he would have definitely appreciated Rahul’s dedication, tenacity, and the outreach during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. This 145-day Yatra, spanning over 4,000 km, has arguably positioned Rahul as a highly credible face of the political narrative countering bigotry.”