#Rajasthan: BJP Makes A Surprise Choice , First Time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma Chosen New Chief Minister ; Vasundhara Raje Snubbed

Picture : ANI/ X

The BJP in a surprise move picked first-time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma as Rajasthan’s new chief minister, ending days of speculation that followed its victory in the assembly polls. The move it seems is aimed at moving ahead from the seasoned Vasundhara Raje.

According to PTI,At the meeting, the CM-designate’s name was proposed by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who was herself considered to be in the running for the top post.

The surprise choice was announced after BJP MLAs met in Jaipur and elected the 56-year-old MLA from Sanganer as the leader of its legislature party.

Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa will be the deputy chief ministers and Vasudev Devnani the speaker of the state assembly, said senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who led a team of three party central observers to oversee the meeting.

Diya Kumari, a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, is a two-time MLA and one-time MP.

The 51-year-old BJP leader, who became an MLA for the first time in 2013 from the Sawai Madhopur assembly seat, was said to be among the frontrunners for the post of chief minister.

In 2019, she was elected as an MP from Rajsamand.

She is the daughter of erstwhile Jaipur royal Sawai Bhawani Singh, who earned distinction in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war as a Lt Colonel and Commanding Officer of the Para Commandos of the 10th Parachute Regiment.

Kumari is also associated with several non-government organisations, including the Eye Bank Society of Rajasthan, and Rays, an NGO working for HIV+ children, of which she is the patron.

Bairwa, who was declared deputy chief minister along with Kumari, is a Dalit face in the BJP. The 54-year-old won the Dudu constituency in the November 25 Rajasthan assembly elections.