NEARLY A MONTH after the results of the Rajasthan Assembly elections were declared, 22 ministers — 12 with Cabinet rank, five Minister of States (Independent charge) and five Minister of States — took oath in a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan on Saturday. While Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and deputy chief ministers Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa were sworn in on December 15, the suspense over other ministerial faces had been building up since the last fortnight, with the opposition Congress training guns on the BJP over the delay. Consistent with the BJP central leadership’s decision to opt for a fresh face to lead the state government, the party has preferred fresh faces while choosing ministers as well. Among the 22 ministers, only five — Cabinet ministers Gajendra Singh Khinvsar, Madan Dilawar and Kirodi Lal Meena along with MoS (Independent charge) Surendra Pal Singh TT and MoS Otaram Dewasi — have held ministries in the previous BJP governments in the state. Notably, Dewasi, a loyalist of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had previously handled the Gopalan Ministry aimed at the welfare of cows in the state during Raje’s second term. Despite his previous experience, Dewasi has not been made an MoS with independent charge or a cabinet minister. Other cabinet ministers such as Dilawar and Meena are known to be detractors of Raje, with the latter even leaving the BJP back in 2008-09 over differences with the former CM. Among the others, Surendra Pal Singh TT was sworn in despite being not an MLA. Surendra Pal Singh is the BJP candidate for the Assembly elections in the Karanpur Assembly constituency, which were postponed due to the death of the Congress MLA and will now be held on January 5. The Congress on Saturday attacked the BJP over swearing in TT, accusing the BJP of not adhering to the Constitution and alleging that the party is trying to influence voters by making him an MoS despite not being an MLA yet. Another cabinet minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has previously served as an MoS in the Centre but will hold a ministerial portfolio in the state for the first time. While in the run-up to the Assembly elections, top BJP leaders had spoken about the party’s role in the safe passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam granting 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state Assemblies, Manju Baghmar was the lone woman who took oath as an MoS on Saturday. With Baghmar, the council of ministers in Rajasthan presently has two women ministers, the other being deputy chief minister Diya Kumari. With the addition of the 22 ministers on Saturday, the Rajasthan council of ministers is 25 strong, the other three being CM Sharma, and deputy CMs, Kumari and Bairwa. A major factor that sticks out in the list of newly-crowned ministers is the BJP’s focus on non-dominant OBC caste groups such as Kumawat, Patel, Rawat, Bishnoi and Mali. Of the 10 Cabinet ministers who took oath on Saturday, four ministers —Joraram Kumawat, Suresh Rawat, KK Vishnoi, Avinash Gehlot and Jogaram Patel — are from non-dominant OBC groups, a section that is counted among voters of the BJP. Traditionally, the Jat community, which is the dominant OBC group in the state were regarded as Congress voters but in recent years have also supported the BJP. Four Jat ministers including two cabinet ministers were sworn in on Saturday. The representation of non-dominant OBCs in the council of ministers will help the BJP further keep its vote bank intact. One minister from the Gujjar community, classified as Most Backward Class in the state was also sworn in on Saturday. Three ministers are from the tribal community while three others from the Dalit community were sworn in on Saturday. Deputy CM Bairwa is also from the Dalit community, which now has four members in the 25-member council of ministers. Now, the Rajasthan council of ministers also has three Rajput ministers including deputy CM Kumari. Rajputs are traditional voters of the BJP in Rajasthan.
