UP election results 2017: Who will be BJP's CM choice after huge win?

Lucknow/New Delhi: With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls by a landslide on Saturday, the race for the Chief Minister’s post will soon heat up.

The BJP had not announced a candidate for CM’s post before the polls, and several leaders are said to be in the fray. Here’s a look at some of the likely candidates.

1. Keshav Prasad Maurya: Maurya is the UP BJP President. He comes from a backward community and was closely associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) during the Ram Mandir agitation. His appointment as BJP state chief was aimed at garnering support from the non-Yadav OBCs in the state. However, his lack of experience at the top level can go against him.
2. Rajnath Singh: There have been rumours for a while that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh would become the UP Chief Minister if BJP won the polls. Now that BJP has won in a landslide, Singh’s name is sure to crop up. He has been CM of the state in the past – between 2000 and 2002 – during the BJP’s last tenure in power in UP. A BJP veteran, Rajnath has good ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and popular following in the state. Rajnath could be acceptable to different religious and caste groups too as he is considered a moderate leader.
3. Uma Bharti: Perhaps the most firebrand leader in UP BJP, Uma Bharti is currently the Union Water Resources and Ganga Cleaning Minister. Bharti belongs to the backward Lodh caste and the BJP can consider her for the post of CM as it has got massive support from backward castes. She has also been CM of Madhya Pradesh. But not being close to RSS or even Modi could affect her chances.
4. Manoj Sinha: Manoj Sinha is the Union Minister for Telecom. He represents the Ghazipur Lok Sabha constituency and is considered close to PM Modi.
5. Mahesh Sharma: Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, apart from being known for his loose talk, is also a doctor, a first-time MP from Gautam Buddha Nagar and a man considered close to the RSS.
6. Dinesh Sharma: Dinesh Sharma is currently the national vice president of the BJP, and was the mayor of Lucknow in 2008. However, his closeness to Amit Shah is what really works in his favour.

These 6 leaders are probably the top contenders for the CM’s post in UP, following the elections. However, with Modi being known to spring surprises, we have to wait until the actual announcement for the suspense to end.