A high-level meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence on Tuesday, with people aware of the matter saying the top brass deliberated upon the process of picking chief ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — the three Hindi heartland states that the party won in the recently concluded assembly elections.

While the party did not offer any official comment on the agenda or the outcome of the meeting, which was also attended by BJP president JP Nadda, the people cited above said the meeting was called to decide the schedule of the parliamentary board, the highest decision-making body of the party, that will take a call on the appointment of observers for the legislative party meetings in each of the three states.

The party high command will assess the inputs from the ground before arriving at a decision, a BJP functionary said, requesting anonymity.

“What the senior leadership does not appreciate is flexing muscle. Reports of leaders showing strength by parading MLAs is not welcomed,” the functionary said. Though he did not name anyone, he was referring to reports of legislators grouping in Rajasthan to signal their support for former CM Vasundhara Raje.

In the recently concluded polls, the last such exercise before Lok Sabha elections next summer, the BJP wrested power from the Congress in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and retained its government in Madhya Pradesh.

As suspense over the CM’s choice for Rajasthan continued, party leaders from the state held a series of meetings on Tuesday. Several newly elected legislators made a beeline to meet Raje as well as state unit chief CP Joshi in Jaipur on Tuesday. State in-charge Arun Singh also held a meeting with Joshi at the latter’s residence. They then met party general secretary (organisation) Chandrashekhar at the BJP office in the state capital. The series of meetings came a day after Joshi and Singh met Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday.

Singh said a decision on the CM would be taken soon. “Whatever decision is taken by the parliamentary board will be acceptable to all,” he added.

The BJP legislature party meeting where the leader of the legislature party will be chosen is likely to be take place on Wednesday or Thursday, people familiar with the matter said.

In Raipur, BJP MLAs and leaders met former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh. “We have just come to greet the former chief minister,” said one of the newly elected MLAs who did not wish to be named.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he had never been a contender for the chief minister’s post earlier, or now.

“I have neither been a contender for the post of chief minister in the past nor am I today,” Chouhan said in a video shared on his official X account.

“As a party worker, I have always carried out whatever work was assigned by the BJP with dedication, to the best of my ability, genuineness and honesty,” he added.