However, if BJP decides to stick to tribal as chief minister, the focus could shift to union minister Sudarshan Bhagat.
A five-time MLA, Das' keenness for the top post is no secret. A couple of years ago while speaking in the state assembly, Das had reacted to an MLA's remark whether he was interested in becoming CM, by saying a man is in politics for that reason only.
He left the issue of CM's choice to BJP's central party leadership when the media had yesterday asked him in Jamshedpur to comment on the chief ministerial candidate.
Saryu Roy, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (he was in a committee set up to collect iron pieces for the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a pet project of Modi), was instrumental in setting the precedent of having a tribal as chief minister of Jharkhand and it has continued since then.