First-time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma selected as new Rajasthan CM, will have two deputies

JAIPUR: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday picked Bhajanlal Sharma, a first-time MLA from the Sanganer Assembly constituency, as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

#WATCH | Rajasthan CM-designate Bhajanlal Sharma garlanded after BJP picks him for the CM post, in Jaipur pic.twitter.com/rcwibk9fDd

— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2023

“Bhajanlal Sharma has been elected as the leader of the Rajasthan BJP legislature party. There will be two Deputy CMs — Diya Singh and Dr Prem Chand Bairwa. Vasudev Devnani will be the Speaker”, said BJP central observer for Rajasthan, Rajnath Singh.

Earlier today, Rajnath Singh and other party observers, Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pandey, held a meeting in which Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Rajasthan BJP election in-charge Pralhad Joshi was also present. Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tavde and Saroj Pandey had been appointed as party observers for Rajasthan.

#WATCH | "Bhajanlal Sharma has been elected as the leader of the Rajasthan BJP Legislature Party. There will be two Deputy CMs- Diya Singh and Dr. Prem Chand Bairwa. Vasudev Devnani to be the Speaker," says BJP central observer for Rajasthan, Rajnath Singh pic.twitter.com/XyqGKDo40o

— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2023

The election results in four states, especially the losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, came as a huge blow to the Congress’s hopes for 2024 as it is now out of power across a vast swathe of the Hindi heartland.

Rajasthan polls were conducted for 199 seats out of 200 Assembly seats on November 25, as elections in the Karanpur constituency were adjourned due to the passing of the Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.

In the recent Rajasthan Assembly polls, the BJP secured 115 seats out of 199, leading to the ousting of the incumbent Ashok Gehlot government, while the Congress won 69 seats. In 2018, the Congress won 99 seats, while the BJP won 73. Gehlot assumed the CM position with the support of BSP MLAs and independents. (ANI)