With eye on 2024 polls, BJP streamlines caste dynamics in Rajasthan with CM, Dy CM appointments

The ruling BJP’s decision to appoint new generation leaders to the post of chief minister and deputy chief minister in Rajasthan reflects the party’s attempt to balance the caste combination in the state ahead of the 2024 General Elections.

Interestingly, first-time MLA, Bhajanlal Sharma, a Brahmin, has been named the leader of the legislative party and chief minister-designate while Diya Kumari, a member of the erstwhile royal family of the Jaipur State and an MLA from Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency, has been named deputy chief minister along with Prem Chand Bairwa.

“This is a fantastic decision. What can be a bigger thing than a ground-level worker being given the opportunity? A man who has seen poverty closely, has led the life of a common man and understands the pain of the common man, has been given the opportunity. This is great. I would like to extend him my greetings. Under the leadership of Bhajanlal Sharma, Rajasthan will see all-round development,” said Rajendra Rathore, senior leader of BJP in Rajasthan after the legislative party meeting on Tuesday (December 12).

Bhajanlal Sharma: First Brahmin CM in 24 years

It is after a gap of nearly 34 years that any political party has appointed a member of the Brahmin community as the chief minister of the state. The last Brahmin leader to become chief minister of Rajasthan was Hari Dev Joshi of the Congress party, who remained in office for a period of 90 days. Joshi was appointed chief minister in December 1989 and remained in office till March 1990.

“The party makes decisions after careful consideration. Rajasthan BJP has received a strong leadership. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all our senior leaders,” Sharma said after being appointed chief minister designate on Tuesday evening.

Caste mathematics

The decision to appoint Sharma, Diya Kumari and Bairwa, part of the preparations for the Lok Sabha polls, could play a significant role in reaching out to different caste groups during the elections.

Senior leaders of the BJP said that while the appointments of Sharma and Diya Kumari are an attempt to consolidate the BJP’s core voter base of Brahmins and Rajputs in Rajasthan, the party has tried to reach out to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community for the first time in the state by making Bairwa the deputy chief minister.

Through Bairwa’s appointment, the BJP also aims to break the Congress’ traditional voter base in the Bairwa community, BJP leaders said.

“Rajasthan has about 18 per cent SCs, and among them, the biggest community is Bairwas. There are many sub-groups, but Bairwas are the biggest community among SCs in Rajasthan. The BJP leadership is trying to take away the voter base of the Congress as Bairwas have traditionally voted for the latter. It is a good strategy before the Lok Sabha polls,” said RD Gurjar, a Jaipur-based political analyst and former professor at Rajasthan University.

In a further boost to its social engineering formula ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP leadership has reached out to every dominant caste and tried accommodating communities which previously didn’t get substantial representation in the government. Senior BJP leaders said that while the party has made space for Brahmins, Rajputs and SCs through the appointments to the top posts, it had earlier appointed Jagdeep Dhankar, a Jat leader as the Vice President of India and Kailash Choudhary as the Union minister of agriculture and farmer welfare.

“In BJP, we have been taught that the chief minister’s post is a responsibility, not a post. In the coming days, the government will give good governance and bring development to the state,” said Choudhary after the appointment of Sharma.

Counter-offensive to Congress campaign

Political analysts believe that the BJP has tried to consolidate its core voter base through these appointments and has given opportunity to leaders of different communities to counter the election campaign of Congress.

“There is a big difference between appointing Vasundhara Raje and Bhajanlal Sharma. When Raje was the chief minister, the party organisation did not get strengthened, but with the appointment of Sharma, Diya Kumari, and Bairwa as new leaders is expected to strengthen the caste combination for the BJP. The party now has representatives from the Brahmin, Rajput SC and Jat communities in Rajasthan. If we consider Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, then the BJP also has a representative of the Jain and Baniya community from Rajasthan,” said Gurjar.

End of Raje era

The appointment of Sharma also means the end of the road for former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who has dominated Rajasthan politics for over two decades and became chief minister for the first time in December 2003.

Although Raje was not part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or any of its affiliates, she managed to command the BJP in Rajasthan for over two decades.

While there is speculation that Raje’s son Dushyant Singh could be accommodated in the Union council of ministers soon, the relationship between the central leaders of the BJP in Delhi and Raje has been strenuous for the past few years.

“Vasundhara Raje was the biggest leader for the BJP in Rajasthan, but she never got along with RSS leaders in the state. The appointment of Bhajanlal Sharma also suggests that not only the BJP, but the RSS too is taking control of the BJP in Rajasthan,” added Gurjar.