The appointment of Union Minister of State Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as the convenor of the BJP'’ election management committee for the Rajasthan Assembly polls has sprung surprise in the political circles here. Mr. Shekhawat had earlier lost out the race for the BJP State president after Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s resistance.
Saini to head panel
BJP president Amit Shah announced the 16-member panel’s appointment in New Delhi on Thursday amid speculations that the party’s central leadership does not want to give a free hand to Ms. Raje in the selection of candidates, orgnisational matters and monitoring of electoral strategies. BJP State chief Madan Lal Saini will head the committee, which has Ms. Raje as one of its members.
Differences between Ms. Raje and Mr. Shah had reportedly delayed the appointment of new BJP State president by three months after Ms. Raje’s confidant Ashok Parnami resigned following the party’s defeat in by-elections to one Assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies earlier this year.
‘Social engineering’
Though the BJP has attempted to carry out “social engineering” by including the communities such as Rajputs, Jats and Meghwals in the committee, the party faces a tough task of getting the votes of these caste groups in the upcoming Assembly election. The occasional display of divisions within the party also remains a major issue to be tackled by the senior BJP leaders.
According to the political observers, the appointment of Mr. Shekhawat, who is Lok Sabha MP from Jodhpur, may help resolve hostility against BJP among certain sections in the Marwar region. However, his uneasy relations with Ms. Raje may affect smooth functioning of the committee.