Ending the nine-day suspense, the BJP on Tuesday sprang another surprise by naming first time MLA from  Sanganer, Bhajan Lal Sharma  (56), as Rajasthan Chief Minister after selecting Mohan Yadav and Vishnu Deo Sai as Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively. 

Diya Kumari, a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, is a two-time MLA and one-time MP and Prem Chand Bairwa, a Dalit face in the BJP, will be the Deputy Chief Ministers and Vasudev Devnani the Speaker of the State Assembly.

The announcement came nine days after the party registered a resounding victory in the Assembly elections, overthrowing the ruling Congress led by Ashok Gehlot.

Sharma’s appointment marks an end to a 25-year-old trend where the State only witnessed Gehlot and senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje taking turns to rule the State.

Sharma later met Governor Kalraj Mishra Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and staked claim to form the next Government in the State. BJP State president CP Joshi presented a letter to the Governor, informing him 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 Raje, Deputy Chief Minister-designates Diya and Chand.

Earlier at the BJP State legislative party meeting, the CM-designate’s name was proposed by Raje, who was herself considered to be running for the top post in the presence of three observers, led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tawde, Saroj Pandey and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, the BJP incharge for Rajasthan.

The RSS-backed Sharma won the Sanganer constituency by defeating Congress candidate Pushpendra Bhardwaj with a margin of 48,081 votes.

He belongs to Bharatpur district but he was given ticket from Sanganer Assembly seat as Bharatpur seat wasn’t considered winnable for upper castes. 

According to BJP leaders,  Sharma, who is at present the BJP’s State general secretary, holds a Master’s degree in Political Science. He is considered close to the party’s ideological mentor RSS and its chief JP Nadda.

Before becoming MLA, he served as the general secretary for the BJP four times. As per his affidavit, his total assets amount to `1,46,56,666, whereas his liabilities amount to `35 lakh. He completed his MA from Rajasthan University, Jaipur, in 1993.

After Vishnu Deo Sai for Chhattisgarh and Mohan Yadav for Madhya Pradesh, Sharma is the third surprising choice for the chief ministerial post by the BJP.

The party ignored obvious choices like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raje and Raman Singh and entrusted largely unknown faces with running the Governments and spearheading its designs for the upcoming 2024 general elections.

All the three chief ministerial choices reflect the BJP’s attempt to balance respective caste equations while warding off possible anti-incumbency. It is learnt that selecting a  Brahmin face as Chief Minister in Rajasthan will also impact other neighbouring States as Brahmins are 11 per cent in UP, 20 per cent in Uttarakhand, 18 per cent in Himachal and  6 per cent in MP.

Earlier on Tuesday, three BJP observers, led by Singh arrived in Jaipur to oversee the legislature party meeting, where the Chief Minister-elect was picked.The team was welcomed by CP Joshi and  Raje. Several BJP MLAs have called on Raje in recent days in what was seen as a show of support, amid speculations the party may spring a surprise this time. She also met party leaders in Delhi.

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. Bairwa, who defeated Congress’ Babu Lal Nagar with a margin of 35,743 votes, is Ph.D from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur.

The BJP won 115 seats in the Assembly elections, while the Congress got 69 seats. Elections were held on 199 of the 200 seats in the State.

While the BJP had not projected any CM candidate during its Rajasthan campaign, the names of MP-turned-MLA Balaknath, Raje, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Kirori Lal Meena and Diya Kumari had been doing the rounds in political circles.

Polling in Karanpur was deferred due to the death of Congress candidate and sitting MLA Gurmeet Singh Koonar. It will now be held on January 5.