Incumber Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan escalated the suspense over BJP’s next CM pick after he shared a social media post which is being read in two ways in the political circles. From his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Chouhan posted a picture of him and captioned it with “sabhi ko Ram Ram (Ram Ram to all)”.

In the photo, Chouhan is seen with his hands folded and the salutation ‘Ram Ram’, which is colloquially used in the northern parts of the country as a greeting as well as a parting message, has blown off speculations.

Chouhan posted the picture only two days before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to hold a key meeting in Bhopal which is likely to decide the next CM for the state. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, OBC Morcha chief and Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman and party national secretary Asha Lakra have been tasked to oversee the CM selection process in the state.

Speculation is rife that the BJP will go for a new line of leadership in all three heartland states after clocking a comprehensive win in the assembly elections.

Observers will arrive in the state on Monday morning and conduct the meeting at 4 pm. “Invitations have been sent to the MLAs. The process of the party would be followed and a decision will be taken,” MP BJP chief VD Sharma said. On Chouhan’s post, Sharma said, “This is (Lord) Ram’s country. On January 22, a grand idol of Lord Ram will be consecrated at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. We greet each other in the morning by saying ‘Ram-Ram’. It is our culture to start the day with the name of Ram.”