BJP MPs Resign as Members of Parliament after State Election Victories, Including Chief Minister Candidates

Ten out of the twelve Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament (MPs) who won seats in the state elections held in November have resigned from Parliament and will also step down from the cabinet. This includes union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Patel. Prahlad Patel, who is currently the Minister of State for Food Processing, stated that he has resigned as an MP and will soon resign from the cabinet as well. The resignations were necessary because the Constitution does not allow individuals to function as both MPs and members of a state Legislative Assembly.

The remaining two MPs, Baba Balaknath from Rajasthan’s Alwar and Renuka Singh from Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja, are expected to resign shortly. Many of the BJP leaders who resigned are believed to be contenders for the position of chief ministers in the three states that the party won – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. Speculation has heightened that the party may announce these appointments soon, possibly even today. BJP sources have indicated that new faces may be chosen, ruling out a fifth term for Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Chouhan. The other two states were previously held by the Congress party.

A meeting that lasted nearly five hours was held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in Delhi today. It was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party leader JP Nadda. In Telangana, none of the BJP’s prominent figures managed to secure a win, and the party itself suffered a defeat, winning only eight out of the 111 seats it contested, while the Congress emerged victorious.

Three BJP MPs lost in Rajasthan, two in Madhya Pradesh, and one in Chhattisgarh. Among the BJP parliamentarians who contested were Baba Balaknath, Diya Kumari, and Kirori Lal Meena in Rajasthan, and Vijay Baghel in Chhattisgarh. The three candidates from Rajasthan won their seats, but Vijay Baghel, who ran against his uncle and outgoing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, lost. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP also fielded two union ministers – Renuka Singh and Gomti Sai. Renuka Singh won from Bharatpur-Sonahat and Gomti Sai won from Pathalgaon.

Faggan Singh Kulaste, the Minister of State for Tribal Development, was the only union minister from the BJP who failed to win a seat. He lost in Madhya Pradesh’s Niwas constituency. The Congress party also fielded MPs in Telangana, including Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy, both of whom won their respective seats. The party now has 14 days to decide which seat each MP will hold. Revanth Reddy, who won the Kodangal seat, will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister on Thursday and will also resign from his MP seat.

Similar dynamics are expected within the BJP in Rajasthan, where Baba Balaknath, Kirori Lal Meena, and Diya Kumari are among the top contenders for the position of chief minister to succeed Ashok Gehlot. In Madhya Pradesh, Prahlad Patel and Narendra Singh Tomar are in the race to lead the government.

This article includes inputs from various agencies.