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Journalism of Courage
With less than six months left before Rajasthan goes to the Assembly polls, the BJP has announced a list of office-bearers as part of its reconstituted state executive committee. The move comes three months after C P Joshi took over as the state BJP president.
The new BJP state executive succeeds the one that was constituted in 2020 during the tenure of Satish Poonia who headed the committee between 2019 and 2023.
According to BJP sources, the new names in the list have been added after considering their ability to strengthen the party’s organisation. There are 11 state vice-presidents, five general secretaries, 11 secretaries, one treasurer, and a co-treasurer in the new 29-member list.
Among notable names, Alwar MP Mahant Balak Nath has been made a state vice-president, an indication of his growing clout within the party. In recent times, the rise of Balak Nath, who is from the OBC Yadav community, has been a concern for the ruling Congress.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Nath defeated Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, the tallest Congress leader in Alwar, to win the parliamentary seat. Since then, the BJP leader has consistently cornered the Congress over issues such as the demolition of a temple in Alwar by local authorities and even compared the grand old party to the Mughals.
Some of the other new vice-presidents include Tonk-Sawai Madhopur MP Sukhbir Jaunapuriya, who is from the Gujjar community, former MPs C R Choudhary and Santosh Ahlawat — both Jats — and former minister Prabhulal Saini.
While former state BJP president Poonia had included Raje detractor Madan Dilawar in the previous executive, the MLA’s name has been dropped from the latest list. Dilawar, who was sidelined during Raje’s tenure, grabbed eyeballs by making a comeback during Poonia’s time.
However, BJP’s Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari, another Raje detractor and a member of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur, has retained her spot.
One factor that stands out in the list of names is the emphasis on the inclusion of OBC and MBC (Most Backward Class) groups, with names from the Jat, Gujjar, Yadav, Bishnoi, Kumawat and Saini castes. Names from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities have also found a place in the list.
“A push has been given to backward castes, SCs and STs to get the social engineering right before the elections. While the number of sitting MPs and MLAs in the list is low, most of the names are of people who it is believed can strengthen the organisation,” said a BJP leader on condition of anonymity.
