The many troubles of Prem Chand Bairwa: Why Rajasthan Deputy CM finds himself on slippery ground

First, Bairwa’s son, a minor, was seen in a video driving a modified vehicle that belongs to the son of Congress leader Pushpendra Bhardwaj. As the Deputy CM’s son drove the jeep, with Bhardwaj’s son by his side, a state government vehicle with a police beacon on top was seen escorting the vehicle on Amber Road in Jaipur.

Following social media backlash, Bairwa initially said since he became the Deputy CM his son had found opportunities to associate with affluent people and see luxury cars. Bairwa is from a Dalit community. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making him the Deputy CM, he said, “If wealthy individuals now allow my son to sit with them in their car and give him a chance to see luxury cars, then I am thankful.”

With the criticism becoming more pointed following his comments, Bairwa expressed regret over the controversy and said he just had a jeep in his wife’s name in his village. The Department of Transport, of which the Deputy CM has the portfolio, eventually fined his son Rs 7,000 last week for various offences.

As this controversy continued, political circles in the state became rife with rumours of the Delhi Police allegedly detaining a top minister from Rajasthan in a Delhi hotel along with a Russian woman. On October 3, the Congress’s social media head Supriya Shrinate posted a cryptic message on X: “BJP, Rajasthan, Delhi, Le Meridien Hotel, Russia.” The following day, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also posted on X, “BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister caught with a Russian in a five star hotel in Delhi. Efforts to hush up the matter continue!”

Over the weekend, the BJP dismissed these claims. While state BJP president Madan Rathore did not take any names and denied any party leader’s involvement, state Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena mentioned Bairwa, becoming the first senior party leader to officially do so. “They are spreading rumours by telling blatant lies about Deputy Chief Minister Shri Dr Prem Bairwa ji who is continuously serving the people,” Meena said.

Meena who submitted his resignation as a minister in June — it has not yet been accepted — has been locked in a skirmish with the state BJP leadership, including the CM, and has been causing embarrassment to the government regularly. Meena was seen as a probable candidate for the CM or Deputy CM after the BJP stormed to power in last year’s elections but was overlooked as Sharma became CM and Bairwa and Diya Kumari were appointed Deputy CMs.

With both these incidents embarrassing the party, Sharma was summoned to Delhi from Haryana, where he was campaigning, to meet party chief J P Nadda and others on October 3.

In August, Bairwa had recommended, on his official letterhead, the name of Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS) official Ramchandra Bairwa, since retired, as Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Registrar, that too when the latter hadn’t even applied. Though Urban Development and Local Self Government Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra stepped in, RERA eventually chose Rajiv Jain, stating that as per rules its chairperson can appoint the Registrar.

In June, Bairwa had written to the Maujmabad police station, which falls under his Assembly seat Dudu, to appoint 15 people whom he named to the police station’s Community Liaison Group (CLG). In September last week, a complaint was filed against Bairwa, with the complainant saying only the SP can appoint CLG members. The complaint was later withdrawn.

Amid these controversies, there is speculation in the BJP that Bairwa may be removed from his post after bypolls to seven Assembly seats. However, that itself may be a difficult decision as the party will run the risk of being termed anti-Dalit. Despite his relative inexperience — he is a second-time MLA from Dudu — the BJP appointed Bairwa Deputy CM in an apparent attempt to balance caste equations.

However, he has faced backlash from some in his community too.

In August, after head police constable Babulal Bairwa allegedly died by suicide in Jaipur and named several officials in a note, his family sat on a protest outside SMS hospital mortuary demanding the arrest of the accused and his wife threatened to kill herself. Holding a loudspeaker, his relatives questioned the absence of the Deputy CM, with protesters chanting “shame, shame”. The issue was resolved after five days and the Deputy CM held a press conference and Babulal’s last rites were subsequently conducted.

However, some in the BJP believe the issues of Bairwa have been unnecessarily highlighted as he is a Dalit and an easy target. “The negative headlines for Bairwa have helped cover up CM’s own troubles,” said one BJP leader.