The appointment of first-time BJP MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma as Chief Minister marks the beginning of a new chapter in the politics of Rajasthan, which will have far-reaching implications for both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. From now onwards, there will be more pressure on the Congress high command to give CM posts to new faces and drop the old ones.
Similarly, veterans and heavyweights in the BJP are worried about their future after Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked Sharma as CM. Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje’s future continues to be uncertain. The supporters of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Meghwal, Kailash Choudhary and Om Birla are also wondering about the future. The Delhi political circles are agog with speculation that over half of the total number of BJP MPs may not be given a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
PM Modi’s experiment in terms of giving the CM post to new faces in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh is being viewed as an indication of a big change taking place in the party system. PM Modi is seriously working to develop new leadership in the party as well. He will field a good number of new and young faces in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, with whom he is planning to form his new team if the BJP comes to power after next year’s parliamentary elections.
A new face could also be given the party mantle at the national level. The present BJP president J.P. Nadda’s term is ending in June next year. Similarly, the possibility of a change of guard in the party in the states where elections were held recently is also being discussed.
Former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is said to be in active consideration for a national level assignment. Indications are that Chouhan may be asked to contest Lok Sabha polls. Raje may also be asked to fight LS polls from her son Dushyant Singh’s seat.
Dushyant may then be asked to contest from Raje’s Assembly seat. All eyes are on when CM Sharma accommodates Dushyant in his team. If all goes as per plan, the BJP leadership will shift Raje and Chouhan to the Centre paving way for new leaders in the states to work more freely and without interference of any kind.
The party has already shifted leaders such as Kailash Vijayvargiya, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel from the Centre to the state politics of MP. Similarly, MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Diya Kumari, Balak Nath and Kirori Lal Meena have also been elected MLAs in Rajasthan. This way, they have been moved away from the Centre to the state.
The BJP will drop several of its MPs in the next Lok Sabha elections, and give opportunities to new faces to work at the Centre. This move will boost the morale of the party cadre.