A STRATEGIC POWER SHIFT

WITH A BRAHMIN FIRST-TIMER AS CM, A RAJPUT EX-ROYAL AND A DALIT AS DEPUTIES, THE BJP BALANCES CASTE NOW TO MANAGE DISSENT

- ROHIT PARIHAR

In the season of surprises, the BJP is springing this winter, none was more unexpected than its choice of chief minister in Rajasthan. It was the last name to be announced among the three states that the BJP had won in the north, and the suspense was that much longer. Vasundhara Raje, a strong contender for the post, may have seen it coming, though, when the

BJP overlooked the obvious choices elsewhere and went with names that served the objective of balancing caste equations in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election in 2024. An OBC, therefore, to replace the veteran OBC in Madhya Pradesh, a tribal leader in Chhattisgarh. What was it going to be in Rajasthan?

A Brahmin, as it turned out. Bhajan Lal Sharma, to be precise, who took oath on the day he turned 56, on December 15. The party had paid heed to the imperative of backward class politics in two states; by appointing someone from the general category, it has saved itself from any accusation of becoming “a party of reserved castes”. The choice would have been between a Brahmin and a Rajput. But having had two Rajput CMs before, the balance tilted in favour of a Brahmin candidate. The community may numerically be insignificant in the state, but has traditionally punched above its weight. Making another Rajput a CM may have also turned the Jats away, unless the choice was Raje, a Jat daughter-in-law with a Jat son.

The BJP also does not have a Brahmin CM in the Hindi heartland—both Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh and Pushkar Singh Dhami in Uttarakhand are Rajputs. The Rajputs have always voted the BJP in Rajasthan, the Brahmin vote is split between the Congress and BJP. By appointing a Brahmin CM now, the BJP hopes to attract the entire vote of the community.