The BJP has settled for veteran Madan lal Saini as president of the Rajasthan unit after differences between Chief Minister Vashundhara Raje and party chief Amit Shah held up the appointment for close to three months. Assembly election in Rajasthan is slated for later this year.
like senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, Saini hails from Mali caste. His appointment ends the dilemma of the party leadership which was considering the pros and cons of contesting the polls under a State chief belonging to either Rajput or Jat caste. With the decision, the party has steer clear of the political divide that existed between the Jats and the Rajputs.
Incidentally, senior Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot is working hard to forge a Rajput-Gujjar coalition to take on the BJP. A section of the Rajputs are unhappy with the BJP over the encounter killing of gangster Anandpal Singh Didwana and the BJP Government’s handling of the anti-Padmaavat protests.
Sources said that while the BJP Central leadership wanted to appoint a Rajput as State unit chief, Raje wants to focus on Jats who have announced fresh round of stair for reservation in Government jobs.
Raje loyalist Ashok Parnami had resigned as Rajasthan BJP chief on April 18 as the party swung into damage control mode after losses in the by-elections to two lok Sabha and one Assembly constituencies in March this year.
Earlier, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was tipped to be the State president.
Seventy-five-year-old Saini, is a former MlA and RSS volunteer. He has held various posts in Bharatiya Kisan Morcha and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.