The newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in Rajasthan will hold a meeting on Tuesday and likely pick the legislative party leader, ending days of speculation over who will be the chief minister.

According to party leaders aware of the details, defence minister Rajnath Singh, who has been appointed as observer by the party, and two co-observers – Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pande – will arrive on Tuesday morning for the meeting which will be held at 4pm at the party office.

“The meeting of the BJP Legislature Party has been called at 4 pm on Tuesday at the BJP state office. Registration of all newly elected MLAs of the BJP will start at 1.30 pm,” BJP state general secretary and MLA Bhajanlal Sharma said.

The BJP returned to power in Rajasthan last week after winning 115 of the 199 seats that went to the polls on November 25.

Read Here: Raje, Shekhawat, Meghwal among contenders for CM’s post in Rajasthan

Two-time chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who campaigned aggressively for the party during the assembly elections, is among the leading contenders for the chief minister’s post. The 70-year-old has been the BJP’s face in Rajasthan for the last two decades and a five-time Parliament member.

Another leading contender is Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The BJP’s Rajput face, the 56-year-old shot to fame after defeating former chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Jodhpur. Shekhawat is considered close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the party’s top leadership. Gehlot has accused Shekhawat of involvement in a credit cooperative scam and of trying to topple the Congress government in 2020.

A third leading candidate is Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, a former bureaucrat. Two-time parliamentarian from Chittorgarh, CP Joshi too is considered among the contenders.

Read Here: Vasundhara Raje reaches Delhi amid Rajasthan CM suspense, says ‘Came to see daughter-in-law’

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, national general secretary Sunil Bansal, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, and senior party leader Om Prakash Mathur are also believed to be in the race. Three MPs who have resigned, Baba Balaknath, Diya Kumari, and Kirodi Lal Meena are also among the contenders.

When asked about the possibility of a Dalit leader being chosen as chief minister, state in-charge Arun Singh said: “Everything will be revealed tomorrow.”

On Monday afternoon, state BJP president CP Joshi arrived at the BJP office and met the newly-elected MLAs, besides leaders like organisation secretary Chandrashekhar and former MLA Rajendra Rathore.

Meanwhile, Rathore slammed alleged efforts by party leaders to lobby for the chief minister’s post.

Read Here: JP Nadda speaks to Rajasthan BJP MLAs amid buzz over CM picks for 3 states

“The BJP received votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His face is the strongest face of our party. Despite that, if someone thinks the party got votes on the basis of their face, they can remain in that misconception. In any case, calling MLAs and asking for their support is not the culture of the BJP,” he told reporters.

His comments came as several MLAs gathered at Raje’s residence in Jaipur during the day.

Asked about the Raje’s meeting, Joshi said: “She is our party national vice-president and a two-time chief minister. It is not unusual for the newly-elected MLAs to meet senior leaders.”

Party functionaries said the swearing-in ceremony of the chief minister and his council of ministers will likely be held on Friday.