In a surprise decision, the BJP on Tuesday selected first-time MLA from Jaipur district’s Sanganer seat, Bhajan Lal Sharma, as the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan, ending days of speculation after the party’s victory in the recent State Assembly election. Mr. Sharma’s name was announced at a meeting of the BJP legislature party here in the presence of central observer and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who was herself considered to be in the reckoning for the top post, proposed Mr. Sharma’s name, which was seconded by Sawai Madhopur MLA Kirodi Lal Meena and a few other senior leaders. Two other central observers, Rajya Sabha Member Saroj Pandey and BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, were also in attendance.
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Hailing from Nadbai in Bharatpur district, Mr. Sharma, 56, was fielded as the BJP candidate from Sanganer, where he defeated Congress’s Pushpendra Bhardwaj with a margin of 48,081 votes. He was also looking after the party’s organisational matters in his capacity as the State unit’s general secretary.
Caste combination
The new BJP government in the State will have two Deputy Chief Ministers — Vidyadhar Nagar (Jaipur) MLA Diya Kumari and Dudu MLA Prem Chand Bairwa. The party has meticulously chosen a caste combination representing diversity in State leadership, with a higher caste Brahmin Chief Minister, and the Deputy Chief Ministers — Ms. Kumari belonging to Rajput community and Mr. Bairwa coming from the Scheduled Caste background.
Mr. Singh announced that Ajmer North MLA Vasudev Devnani, who was the Education Minister in the previous Vasundhara Raje government, would be the new Assembly Speaker.
The Chief Minister-designate, accompanied by his two deputies, went to the Raj Bhavan in the evening and met Governor Kalraj Mishra to stake claim to form the new government. A Raj Bhavan spokesperson said the Governor had received a letter from the BJP delegation informing him of Mr. Sharma’s election as the legislature party’s leader along with a list of 115 MLAs.
Mr. Mishra invited Mr. Sharma to take oath as the Chief Minister. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on December 15.
Mr. Sharma said in a brief interaction with the presspersons after the legislature party meeting that the BJP MLAs would meet the expectations that the people had with the ruling party. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will ensure an all-round development of Rajasthan,” he said.
BJP State president C.P. Joshi said the “Team Rajasthan” would work hard with Mr. Sharma as its leader and take the State to new heights of progress. He said Mr. Sharma’s name had been approved with consensus at the meeting and the legislators appreciated his prolonged work to strengthen the organisation.
Senior BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who has won Jaipur’s Jhotwara Assembly seat, said the party had a tradition of taking decisions after “careful consideration”. He said the BJP had received a strong leadership in the State with Mr. Sharma’s selection.
Senior Congress leader and outgoing Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said he expected that Mr. Sharma, while working as the Chief Minister, would maintain the pace of development and fulfil the goal of making Rajasthan the leading State of the country.
