JAIPUR: A day after BJP’s Bhajan Lal Sharma formed his cabinet, it became clear that the party leadership had taken a tough approach towards former CM Vasundhara Raje. The party has chosen 20 out of 25 MLAs who are serving as ministers for the first time, with five ministers assuming the MLA role for the first time.
Experts say that only three aligned with Raje have made it to the cabinet. They are Gajendra Singh Khinvsar, Otaram Dewasi, and Surendra Pal Singh TT. The cabinet formation took place four weeks after the BJP government took office in the state. Sources say the key reason for the delay was Raje’s attempt to secure the CM’s position with a candidate of her camp. She was also in talks with the party leadership to secure cabinet berths for her trusted MLAs. The final team selection has dealt a significant blow to Raje’s aspirations.
While Kirodilal Meena and Madan Dilawar, who were part of the Bhajanlal cabinet, served as ministers in Vasundhara’s initial government, their relationship with Raje soured, leading her to exclude them from her second term.
Senior leaders closely associated with Raje, such as Kalicharan Saraf, Ajay Singh Kilak, Pratap Singh Singhvi, Anita Bhadel, and Dr Jaswant Singh, were not given ministerial berths. The leadership didn’t include Jogeshwar Garg, Pushpendra Singh Ranaut, and Srichand Kripalani in the cabinet, underscoring the BJP’s commitment to nurturing new leadership in the state.
Clearly, the inductees to Sharma’s council of ministers reflect a very limited number of members who can be included among loyalists of former CM Vasundhara Raje who has been systematically sidelined by the BJP top brass in the past five years. The BJP overlooked Raje’s claims while choosing the CM candidate in the state. The former CM was reportedly lobbying for the inclusion of several of her supporters in the new Bhajan Lal ministry.
Out of 30 ministerial posts, 25 have been filled and the rest can join later. Though reports suggest that some of the Raje loyalist MLAs may find a place in the future cabinet expansion, most are chosen as ministers come from RSS camp.