Ashwini Vaishnaw the politician is star at Rajasthan Brahmin Mahapanchayat, stirs buzz over new role

In a style reminiscent of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he paused to ask questions of the audience. “Saathiyon, the unity you have shown today, maintain this unity forever,” he said, before asking thrice: “Rakhoge ki nahin (Will it sustain or not)?”

Vaishnaw went on, “Rajasthan is such a huge state. Should it not get a big grant from the Railways? Milna chahiye ke nahin chahiye (Should it or should it not)?” He then pointed out that while 10 years ago, the state received Rs 600 crore as grant from the Railways, it was up to Rs 9,532 crore now.

Drawing appreciative nods from the audience, Vaishnaw added: “Saathiyon, not one, not two, not three or five or even 10, but 82 railway stations in Rajasthan will be made world-class.” He urged that he not be addressed as Sir or Ashwiniji but as “Ashwini bhai”.

Underlining the Brahmin connection, Vaishnaw also released a postage stamp of Lord Parshuram.

Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw releases postage stamp of “Lord Parshuram” during Brahmin Mahapanchayat, in Jaipur, Sunday, March 19, 2023. (PTI)

While Brahmins constitute just about 7-7.5 per cent of its population, a majority of the CMs in Rajasthan have been from the Brahmin community, though the last one was 33 years ago. Both Muslims and Jats number more than Brhamins, but while the state has had only one Muslim CM, it has seen no CM from the Jat community.

Of the state’s first four CMs, three were Brahmins – including the first CM, Heera Lal Shastri, in 1949, its third, Jai Narayan Vyas, and fourth, Tikaram Paliwal. The only exception was second CM C S Venkatachari, who held the post for roughly four months beginning January 1951.

The last Brahmin CM was Haridev Joshi, who held the post for three terms, with the final one ending in March 1990.

Haridev Joshi, then Chief Minister of Rajasthan. (Express archive)

Vaishnaw hails from Jodhpur, which is also the turf of two other political heavyweights: Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot and Vaishnaw’s colleague in the Union Cabinet, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

The Rajasthan BJP last had a tall Brahmin leader in Ghanshyam Tiwari, an erudite six-term MLA who left and floated his own party following differences with then BJP CM Vasundhara Raje. After Tiwari’s party failed to make a mark in the 2018 Assembly elections, he joined the Congress. While he eventually returned to the BJP, and the party made him a Rajya Sabha member last year, Tiwari is seen as past his prime and turned 75 in December last year.

Tiwari, who was present at the Brahmin Mahasabha on Sunday, spoke up for more benefits for EWS categories, and said governments should cede control over the running of temples and religious places of Sanatan Dharma. Tiwari also demanded “a Sanatan Dharma Hindu Religious Act along the lines of Waqf Board”, adding that “only Hindus should have rights over Hindu temples”.

Other Brahmin faces of the BJP in the state on the Sunday stage included Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra, Chittorgarh MP C P Joshi, Chomu MLA and chief spokesperson of the Rajasthan BJP Ramlal Sharma.

As a Brahmin face, Vaishnaw represents a fresh, clean slate for the state BJP. The party’s Rajasthan campaign has been plagued with factionalism, with the edge still held by Raje, who supposedly remains out of favour with the central leadership. Vaishnaw, in contrast, is considered close to Modi.

Before he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha in July 2019, Vaishnaw was an IAS officer and held various positions, including Private Secretary to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2004.

Any bid to project Vaishnaw though could see stiff competition from several BJP leaders seen as in the CM race, apart from Raje – including Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupender Yadav, and state president Satish Poonia.

Backing Vaishnaw, a party leader said that with his technocrat background – Vaishnaw is an M Tech from IIT Kanpur in 1994 – the Union minister would help enhance the party’s image in the state. “With his background in IIT, then as a bureaucrat, his association with PM Vajpayeeji, and now as an MP and minister, he is an all-round personality and well-suited to take on bigger roles in the state,” the party leader said.