Will it be a former maharaja, a Lok Sabha member or someone from among the newly elected MLAs as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh? After the BJP had landslide victory in the State assembly elections, now speculations are on rife over who would be the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

The names of Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Prahlad Patel and Kailash Vijayavarigya have started doing rounds at a feverish pitch following reports from New Delhi that incumbent chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan may not return as chief minsitrer of Madhya Pradesh, a state he ruled and government with aplomb and hard work

The BJP circles believe that strategy of not projecting Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the chief ministerial face, and banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity paid off. However, when the names for the next chief minister is being discussed, the claim of the longest-serving chief minister in the history of the BJP to the top job has been strengthened with the party's astonishing performance.

A section in the party still believes that Chouhan might be repeated as chief minister because the party has to face Lok Sabha elections in May, 2024 and for going to the elections, the party has only three-four months to work on the ground. In such a situation, it would not be wise to change the face of the party. New chief minister could be brought in after May, 2023, it is believed.

However, if the party high command is in the process of bringing new face as chief minister, there are many leaders in the queue. The other names doing rounds are of Union ministers Prahlad Singh Patel and Jyotiraditya Scindia (both belonging to OBC), BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Another one in the fray is Member of Parliament and State BJP Chief VD Sharma.

Sources in the BJP claimed that the decision would be taken by the high command in next few days and it would be decided unanimously. In the saffron party, all those in the line have already told publicly that they would follow the directives or orders from high command. However, voices in their favour have been raised by their supporters in recent past.