AMN / JAIPUR
In another surprising development Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today announced that first time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma will be the news Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He won the recently concluded elections from the Sanganer assembly seat, defeating Congress’s Pushpendra Bhardwaj with over 48,081 votes.
Besides, Diya Kumari and Premchand Bairwa have been named as Bhajan Lal Sharma’s two deputies.
MLA Vasudev Devnani will be the Speaker. He hails from Ajmer and has previously served as the state Education Minister.
Bhajan Lal Sharma’s name as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan was proposed by BJP’s Vasundhara Raje, who was also among the contenders for the top post. His name was announced by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
He will take oath as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan on December 15.
In his first interaction with the media after being picked as Rajasthan’s CM, Bhajan Lal said, “I would like to assure you that all the MLAs of Rajasthan will definitely meet the expectations that the people have with the BJP. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will ensure holistic development of Rajasthan in all areas.”
Meanwhile BJP’s chief minister-designate Bhajan Lal Sharma on Tuesday met Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and staked claim to form the next government in the state. The BJP had won 115 seats in the recent assembly elections, while the Congress got 69 seats. Polling was held on 199 of the 200 seats in the state on November 25.
BJP state president CP Joshi presented a letter to the governor, informing that Sharma has been elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the state, according to a Raj Bhawan statement.
Sharma was accompanied by senior BJP leader and party central observer Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. Deputy chief minister-designates Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa were also present.
Singh presented the list of 115 MLAs to the governor, the statement said.
Sharma reached the Raj Bhawan after the BJP legislature party meeting, which was overseen by Singh and two other central observers — Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pandey.
WHO IS BHAJAN LAL SHARMA?
The BJP’s Bhajan Lal Sharma’s political journey in Rajasthan has been marked by significant achievements. He has served as the State General Secretary for the BJP four times.
He won the Sanganer assembly seat with an impressive margin, securing 145,162 votes against his Indian National Congress (INC) opponent, Pushpendra Bhardwaj, who polled 97,081 votes.
He is a first time MLA and has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
Bhajan Lal Sharma hails from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur. He was elected as an MLA from Sanganer after he defeated former Jaipur Mayor Ashok Lahot.
Sharma’s ascent to the Chief Minister’s office is part of a broader strategy by the BJP to introduce new faces in the chief ministerial roles across various states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.