Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) President Amit Shah was on Sunday authorised by the party's Parliamentary Board to pick chief ministerial nominees for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur after central observers, being sent to the states, hold meetings with local MLAs.
While the BJP has a clear majority in UP and Uttarakhand, securing over three four of the seats, it is working to cobble together a majority in Manipur where the Congress is the single largest party.
Parliamentary Board Secretary and Union Minister J P Nadda told reporters that party's observers to these states will consult the MLAs there and report to Shah following which he will pick the chief ministerial candidates.
The meeting of the party's highest body which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members, was held amid Shah's consultation with senior leaders of these states, especially Uttar Pradesh, to evolve a consensus over the new chief ministers.
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Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and party general secretary Bhupendra Yadav will be observers for UP, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and general secretary Saroj Pandey will head to Uttarakhand, and Union Minister Piyush Goyal and party vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe will go to Manipur, Nadda said.
"We will hold the meetings soon after Holi," Nadda said.
"Party President Amit Shah has been tasked to decide the Chief Ministers from the party in all the states after seeing the reports that the observers send," he said.
The BJP is already set to form government in Goa where Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has been appointed as the new chief minister by the Governor.
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The dates for party's legislature meetings in respective states have not been decided yet.
Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and Union Minister Manoj Sinha are seen as contenders for the top job in the state.
A section of party leaders is also talking about eight-time MLA Suresh Khanna besides Home Minister Rajnath Singh, whose profile makes him a natural claimant for the job.
Asked if the BJP will form the government in Manipur, where the Congress has got more seats but the saffron party has been able to draw support from smaller parties, Nadda said observers will meet MLAs and a decision will be taken accordingly.
The Board also passed two resolutions, one paying homage to 12 CRPF personnel killed in a Naxal attack in Sukma and another thanking people for voting the party to victory in the state polls.
It also heaped praised on the central government for its various pro-poor policies while Modi praised Shah for leading the party to victory.
Riding on the Modi wave, the BJP trounced rivals SP-Congress and BSP in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, results of which were declared on Saturday, by winning 312 seats in the 403-House.
The saffron party won 56 of the 70 seats in Uttarakhand to storm to power, reducing Congress to minuscule minority in the state Assembly with a poor tally of 11 seats.
The BJP is also set to take power in Goa and Manipur, where it failed to secure majority, with the help of regional allies and independents.
(With agencies)
