After ending the suspense over the Chief Ministerial candidate in Madhya Pradesh on Monday by naming 58-year-old Mohan Yadav, the BJP has taken a leap to Rajasthan as its next stop to choose the Chief Minister. Rajasthan is among the three states that BJP won in the recently-held assembly polls and all eyes are on this Hindi-heartland where the race to the reign intensifies. 

A day after declaring the Chief Ministerial pick in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP central leadership will announce its choice for Chief Minister in Rajasthan on Tuesday - December 12. While the race in Rajasthan has key contenders, it is highly likely that the BJP would go in Rajasthan with the same formula that it invoked in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - introducing a new face amidst prominent leaders. 

The BJP's central observers would be meeting the newly elected MLAs at around 4 pm in Jaipur on Tuesday following which the party would reveal who would take the baton. While the BJP mulls to bring a new face to the apex role in the state, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is one of the prominent leaders of BJP in Rajasthan, is vying to hit the jackpot again by becoming the next Chief Minister. 

Like in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, BJP went to the polls in Rajasthan without naming its Chief Ministerial candidate. Nevertheless, Raje remained a top contender and when the party ousted the Congress rule in the state, Raje hoped that she has a bright prospect of becoming the Chief Minister until BJP took up a formula of introducing new faces in the state it had won. 

It has been reported that the party's drive of elevating the new faces in the Hindi heartland had deeply distressed Raje, who is fearing that her political prowess would have a big blow if she fails in the Chief Ministerial race. It was clear for Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh that he won't be given another term due to which he didn't take efforts to bring the MLAs under his command. But, Raje, who hasn't divulged that she is not in the race, has been meeting with the newly elected MLAs to build consensus and to seek their endorsements for her candidature.

Raje has apparently shown interests that she is ready for the role and after the election results, she even travelled to Delhi and met with BJP National President JP Nadda to build a momentum for her Chief Ministerial bid. However, neither Nadda nor any central BJP leaders shown signs that Raje would be made the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. There are indeed reports suggesting that it is less likely that Raje would be named as the next Chief Minister. 

Rajasthan is witnessing a heavy race for the Chief Ministerial post and besides Raje, the top contenders include Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal, former MP of Rajsamand Diya Kumari, Union Minister and former Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and former Alwar MP Mahant Balaknath are racing against each other for the top post. 

Like how it did in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP will unleash another round of surprise in Rajasthan by naming a less prominent leader as the next Chief Minister. It has also been reported that the saffron party is considering appointing Raje as the next Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

The BJP central observers, which consists of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and two co-observers - national vice president Saroj Pandey and national general secretary Vinod Tawde, will be officially announcing the Chief Ministerial pick after meeting the MLAs during the evening hours of Tuesday. The BJP has secured 115 seats out of the 199 that went to the polls and the results were declared on December 3. Rajasthan is just hours ahead to witness the end of the high-level drama that lasted for nearly ten days.