Rajasthan: President and his predecessors!

They were once the king-makers, vaulted to the highest post a party could bestow on them in a state. Today, they turned to the man who has stepped in their shoes to assume the charge of Rajasthan in a year which would see the elections conducted and a new government formed. 

At the formal ceremony held for Madan Lal Saini at the state BJP headquarters, his predecessors Ashok Parnami, Om Prakash Mathur and Arun Chaturvedi were seated by his side. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who also helmed the post and had steered the party to victory in 2013 polls, was among the most vocal in his praise. She greeted him in traditional ritual and took her seat beside him before he addressed the packed audience at the party office. 

“His appointment is a victory of the workers in Rajasthan. He is the classic example of how a worker can rise through the ranks and achieve the top post in BJP,” Parnami said in his address. Om Mathur remained shy of speaking in public even though Saini is considered to be close to him. 

There was Arun Chaturvedi who was tipped to be the president a few weeks back. Parnami emerging from his Jaipur home at night fueled the rumours that spread like widlfire. Union minister and BJP MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who was the party’s favourite for the post was nowhere to be seen.