First-time MLA Bhajan Lal is BJP's Raj CM pick

NT Correspondent

Jaipur: Continuing with its new-found strategy of bypassing veterans and former chief ministers and springing a surprise by choosing fresh leaders, the BJP on Tuesday picked first-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma as Rajasthan's new chief minister, ending days of speculation that followed its victory in the assembly polls.

The surprise choice was announced after BJP MLAs met here and elected the 56-year-old legislator from Sanganer as leader of its legislature party.

He is at present Rajasthan BJP general secretary. Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa will be the deputy chief ministers and Vasudev Devnani the speaker of the state assembly, said senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who led a team of central observers to oversee the meeting.

Party sources said the oath taking ceremony is likely to take place on December 15.

The BJP won 115 seats in the November 25 assembly elections, while the Congress got 69 seats. Kumari is a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family and a Rajput, while Bairwa a Dalit leader and Sharma a Brahmin. Vasudev Devnani is from the Sindhi community.

At the meeting, the CM-designate's name was proposed by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who was herself considered to be in the running for the top post.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed Sharma won the Sanganer constituency with a margin of 48,081 votes. He belongs to Bharatpur district and holds a master's degree in political science.

Prior to the legislature party meeting, a group photo was taken and Sharma is seen standing in the last row. Before Sharma, Raje was the preferred choice of the BJP for the post for 20 years.

She was chief minister twice -- from 2003 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2018. The Congress was in power in the state in the intervening years with Ashok Gehlot at the helm.

Kumari is a two-time MLA and one-time MP and this time she won from Vidhyadhar Nagar with a margin of 71,368 votes. Bairwa, who was declared deputy chief minister along with Kumari, is a Dalit face in the BJP and two-time MLA.

The 54-yearold won the Dudu constituency in the November 25 polls. He defeated Congress' Babu Lal Nagar with a margin of 35,743 votes. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur.