Uttar Pradesh has been swept away by a Modi wave 2.0 with Bharatiya Janata Party leading in 308 seats. But who will be the party’s chief minister?
The Quint gives you a lowdown on potential CMs.
1. Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh, currently Union Home Minister, was the last BJP chief minister that Uttar Pradesh had in 2002. The Lucknow MP campaigned extensively in the state. Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections, Singh had spoken to The Quint where he was asked if he will return to UP if BJP wins.
“I’d leave that to the party to decide,” he said.
Rajnath has been the BJP's president for two terms in 2005 and 2013. Earlier, he had been at the forefront of the BJP's rise after leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani took a backseat.
2. Yogi Adityanath
BJP MP Adityanath is also in the running to be the next chief minister of the state. Adityanath was the youngest member of the 12th Lok Sabha at 26. He has been elected as an MP from Gorakhpur to the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 elections.
3. Keshav Prasad Maurya
The state party unit chief and Phulpur MP Keshav Prasad Maurya is said to be a strong contender for the CM post. He has contested the 2002, 2007 and 2012 Assembly elections and was the sitting MLA from Sirathu constituency before getting elected as an MP from the Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency seat in 2014.
4. Manoj Sinha
The party MP from Ghazipur could also be considered for the CM designation. Sinha, an alumnus of IT-Banaras Hindu University (now IIT-BHU), is currently the Telecom and Minister of State for Railways. From 1989-1996, he was a member of the National Council. He was elected for successive terms in 1996 & 1999 and again in 2014 to Lok Sabha from Ghazipur constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
5. Shrikant Sharma
BJP general secretary and long-time spokesperson is contesting his first election from Mathura. Sharma is known as a close aide of BJP President Amit Shah. Sharma belongs to Gantholi village in Govardhan tehsil of Mathura.
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