After the landslide verdict in assembly elections the BJP is prepped for a grand oath ceremony for its second government in UP after a gap of 25 years. The new BJP chief minister, likely to be sworn in on Sunday, March 19. The BJP was first voted to power and formed the government on its own strength in 1991. The then Kalyan Singh government was dismissed 18 months later following the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya on December 6 1992.
The oath ceremony will be held at the sprawling Kanshiram Smriti Upvan complex near the Ambedkar memorial in lucknow built by Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati government. The BSP was decimated in the recent assembly elections and its tally plummeted to mere 19 in state assembly with 403 members. The event is likely to be a massive show of strength by the BJP. A long list of guest has been drawn and the prime minister, Union ministers and chief ministers of the BJP ruled states will attend the function.
The new BJP legislature party leader, who will head the government and become the 32nd Chief Minister of the most populated state of the country, will take the oath of office along with his Council of Ministers here on Sunday evening, at 4.30 pm.
Even as the preparations are on for the grand oath ceremony there is still no clarity as to who will be the leader of the BJP legislature party and take oath of the office of the chief minister on Sunday. Though speculation is still on several names including Union home minister Rajnath Singh returning to his home state, the BJP sources have ruled out this possibility.
Another front runner Union minister of state for telecom Manoj Sinha said on Friday that he was not in the race. The BJP president Amit Shah had himself cancelled the other probable, state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya when he said on Thursday, “the party will endorse its state unit president’s choice”.. BJP sources say a surprise announcement could be coming. They said PM Modi and Amit Shah are likely to take a final decision by Friday.
BJP state president Keshav Maurya said here on Friday that the party hold a meeting of party legislators on Saturday and the oath will happen on Sunday and the party will decide the chief minister candidate by Saturday evening.
It’s been a week since election results in five states were announced and the BJP’s delay in naming a chief minister for UP is in deep contrast with the swiftness with which it acted in Goa and Manipur, states where it is not even the largest party, but has managed to install its chief ministers. In Goa, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has already won a trust vote.
But in UP, where the BJP posted one of its most important wins ever and got a landslide mandate, it is still scouting for the right person to lead the state. In Uttarakhand, also where the BJP swept the elections had finalised the name of the chief minister.
BJP MlAs have started arriving in the state capital since Friday morning and most of them have been accommodated at the government guest houses, as the MlA flats were yet to be vacated by the outgoing MlAs. The BJP MlAs, majority of them first timers, are flocking the state party headquarters here and meeting the leaders. State BJP General Secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said here that all 312 BJP MlAs had been asked to be present in the state capital on Saturday. He said the meeting would be held at 5 pm at the newly-constructed chief minister’s secretariat, the lok Bhawan, adjoining the state office of the party.
Two Central Observers of the party from Delhi - Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav, along with UP In-Charge Om Mathur, state President Keshav Prasad Maurya, Joint national Organisation Secretary Shiv Prakash and state General Secretary (Organisation) Sunil Bansal would also be present during the meeting.
BJP has won three-fourths majority in the 403-member House, excluding one nominated. The party is returning to power after 15 years of exile. The BJP was a coalition partner in the government headed by Mayawati. The government took in may 2002 it lasted till August 203. In 17th assembly the BJP 325 seats, including its two allies.