Bhajanlal Sharma as Rajasthan CM: From a backbencher to the forefront
Though his appointment to the top job has come as a surprise, Sharma is an organisation man who graduated from an ABVP member to become state general secretary four times
Dashing the hopes of at least four chief ministerial hopefuls, the Rajasthan BJP legislative party meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday (December 12) sprang a surprise when it picked Bhajanlal Sharma as the new chief minister . The meeting took place in the presence of BJP’s central observer Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Ironically, Sharma’s name for the top job was proposed by none other than former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, a frontrunner in the race to the coveted post. The other hopefuls were Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The announcement of Sharma’s name as chief minister-designate, which was made after party observers Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pandey met in the presence of election in-charge Pralhad Joshi, also dashed the hopes of Diya Kumari. A member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, Kumari is a two-time MLA and one-time MP and was considered a frontrunner.
Sharma, 56, hails from Bharatpur, who contested from Sanganer and won by 48,081 votes, defeating his Congress rival Pushpendra Bhardwaj.
A low-key person, who tried his luck at the hustings in 2008 as an independent candidate but failed to make any mark, Sharma has been an organisation man. He graduated from a foot soldier of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP's ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, to serve as Rajasthan general secretary of the BJP four times.
When his name was announced for the top job, Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi had this to say, “He has been serving the party delicately for a very long time. It is a very joyful moment that Bhajanlal Sharma's name has been announced for the CM post of Rajasthan.”
According to his election affidavit, Sharma is a post-graduation in politics from Rajasthan University and owns Shri Krishna Kanhaiya & Company, while his spouse Kishan Swaroop Sharma is in the wholesale trading business. He owns assets worth over Rs 1.4 crore and has a criminal case under Sections 353 and 149 of the IPC.
If media reports are to be believed, Sharma was seen seated in the back benches during the BJP legislative party meeting. His appointment also marks the trend where Rajasthan saw Congress leader Ashok Gehlot and Raje taking turns to occupy the high chair.