Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa will serve as deputy CMs and Vasudev Devnani will be the speaker; Bhajan Lal Sharma won the Sanganer constituency with a margin of 48,081 votes
JAIPUR, Dec 12: 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 MLA from Sanganer as the leader of its legislature party.
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 three party central observers to oversee the meeting.
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.
Sharma, who is at present the BJP’s state general secretary, 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.
Diya 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.
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 a Ph.D holder from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur.
The BJP won 115 seats in the assembly elections, while the Congress got 69 seats.
CM designate Bhajan Lal Sharma meets Guv, stakes claim to form govt
BJP’s chief minister-designate Bhajan Lal Sharma on Tuesday met 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 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 Vasundhara Raje.
Deputy chief minister-designates Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa were also present.Singh presented the list of 115 MLAs to the governor, the statement said.
Sharma reached the Raj Bhawan after the BJP legislature party meeting, which was overseen by Singh and two other central observers – Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pandey.At the meeting, Singh had also announced that Vasudev Devnani will be the speaker of the state assembly. Polling was held at 199 seats as elections 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. (PTI)