Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari presented her first budget at the Rajasthan assembly last week. Ever since she was made BJP candidate in Jaipur’s high profile Vidhyadhar Nagar seat last October, replacing the son in law of former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Diya is seen as the party High Command’s choice to replace former CM Vasundhara Raje. After winning, she was not only made deputy CM but also given the key portfolios of finance and tourism. Ironically, Raje had brought Diya into politics in 2013 but later the duo had a fallout. Raje’s absent when Diya presented her budget reflects that cold war.
BJP to make a shift in election approach?
Elections for Rajya Sabha seats will be held in the country this month. Of these, three seats are also from Rajasthan. The BJP is expected to experiment and make a significant shift in its approach to choosing leaders in the Rajya Sabha. Previously, leaders could contest from seats in other states, but the BJP is reconsidering this. If successful, leaders would need to secure a seat within their own state to be brought to Delhi. This change aims to prevent leaders from one state being brought to Delhi via another state’s seat. The party has told this directive to state leaders.
CM visits birthplace in Bharatpur
For the first time after becoming the Rajasthan CM, Bhajan Lal Sharma visited his birthplace in Bharatpur’s Attari village a few days ago. The entire village gathered to catch a glimpse of their leader and showered flowers on him to welcome him. Given the warm and effusive welcome in the village, Bhajan Lal soon shared the pictures and expressed his gratitude on social media. In addition, he even circum-navigated the entire village barefoot to express his happiness and gratitude towards people in his birthplace. Bhajanlal has become MLA for the first time from Jaipur’s Brahmin-dominated Sanganer assembly seat.
Rajesh Asnani
Our correspondent in Jaipur
rajesh.asnani@newindianexpress.com