Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma elected in 15 minutes, awkward silence followed; This is what happened next

As soon as the meeting started, Rajnath Singh gave a note to Vasundhara Raje, which had the name of the new chief minister on it, and she suggested the name. The same pattern was also adopted in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Jaipur: Bhajan Lal Sharma, a first-time MLA, was elected the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan in a swift and surprising move. The decision took just 15 minutes, leaving the meeting in stunned silence after Vasundhara Raje, a senior leader, suggested Sharma’s name. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, acting as central observer, invited other proposals but no MLA dared to speak. In a seemingly effortless 15 minutes, Rajasthan had its new chief minister, the report by news agency IANS said.

The report said the decision to appoint Sharma as chief minister had already been taken in Delhi and the observers were reportedly given a sealed envelope, which was opened only during the legislative party meeting. Before the legislative party meeting, Rajnath Singh had held discussions with Vasundhara Raje and state president CP Joshi at the hotel.

Rajnath Singh gave Vasundhara Raje a slip

As soon as the meeting started, Rajnath Singh gave a note to Vasundhara Raje, which had the name of the new chief minister on it, and she suggested the name. The same pattern was adopted in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh too. According to the report, the high command’s instruction to Rajnath Singh was that Vasundhara Raje will make the proposal.

Rajnath Singh was specifically sent as an observer with the responsibility of finding out her proposed name of the new CM. For example, he had discussions with her as soon as he reached Jaipur and it is said that Vasundhara Raje disagreed on some names. However, she had no objection to Sharma’s name. Premchand Bairwa, who was made deputy chief minister, is also said to be inclined towards Vasundhara Raje.

As soon as the legislative party meeting began, Joshi gave a short speech in which he said the BJP “is a disciplined party and decisions here are taken as per the customs and policies of the organisation”.

“As disciplined party workers, we have all accepted the decisions of the central leadership. This has been our tradition. Even today the same tradition should be followed,” he said and then called on Rajnath Singh to speak and made the same points.

The crucial role of Rajnath Singh

After concluding his speech, Rajnath Singh asked Vasundhara Raje to suggest the name of the Prime Minister. Sharma did not meet high command leaders after the elections. He stayed in Jaipur and did not even go to Delhi.

Before the meeting of the legislative party, even he himself did not know that he would become the chief minister as the entire process was kept confidential. He only came to know about it when Vasundhara Raje suggested his name and everyone supported it.

Sources said Sharma is considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and this played a big role in his elevation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and party president JP Nadda jointly decided on Sharma’s final name after discussing the names of half a dozen leaders, but there were some political hurdles that kept them out of the reckoning.

(With input from agencies)