Modi 3.0 hands out 4 ministerial berths to Rajasthan

JAIPUR: BJP's poor showing in Rajasthan after two successive perfect scores in 2014 and 2019 did not dampen the desert state's chances as Narendra Modi picked his Council of Ministers in his third term as Prime Minister.
Four MPs elected from Rajasthan made the cut in Modi's Council of Ministers, while a fifth, Ashwini Vaishnaw, from Jodhpur, who was elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, was also administered the oath of office as cabinet minister on Sunday.Vaishnaw was widely tipped to be in the contention for the chief ministerial post in Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 state polls.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who won his third consecutive election from Jodhpur, and Bhupender Yadav, who made his Lok Sabha debut from Alwar, were sworn in as cabinet ministers. Arjun Ram Meghwal, elected from Bikaner for a fourth term, on the other hand, was sworn in as Minister of State (independent charge).
Bhagirath Choudhary, the two-term MP from Ajmer, was the surprise entrant into the council of ministers and was inducted as junior minister. Chaudhary is seen as the Jat replacement for BJP's Kailash Choudhary, the former minister who faced a crushing defeat against Congress from the Barmer Lok Sabha constituency.
The choice of ministers, which showcase the saffron party's fine balancing act on the caste front, saw them offer representation to each of the politically crucial communities in Rajasthan - Rajputs, OBCs, SCs and Jats. Vaishnaw's addition to the Rajasthan tally also bumps up the representation of Brahmins in the Modi cabinet.
Apart from caste considerations, PM Modi also appears to have bet on experience. Bhupender Yadav is a stalwart in the organisation, while Shekhawat and Meghwal have forged close working relationships with the PM over the past decade. Choudhary's appointment, however, surprised many considering it was done by passing over two other Jats, Pali MP PP Choudhary, and Jalore MP Lumbaram Choudhary.
Rajasthan's sizeable share in Modi's new council comes despite BJP's lacklustre performance in Lok Sabha polls and likely pressures from coalition partners. Sources said BJP did not want to attract unwarranted attention by reducing the strength of ministers by half, considering they delivered an absolute majority to BJP in the Dec 2023 polls. That the Bhajan Lal Sharma govt is still taking its tentative first steps after the dust settles on elections also played on the BJP's mind, especially because the party was keen to not allow the INDIA bloc, with its 11 seats win in the LS polls, to get additional ammunition to attack the govt with.
"The immediate challenge will be the five by-polls necessitated by 5 Rajasthan MLAs winning LS polls. The municipal polls are also around the corner in November 2024. Any negative impression can produce adverse results, which BJP does not want," a source said.
Caste arithmetic aside, former CM Vasundhara Raje, may end up being the only disappointed party as her five-term MP son, Dushyant Singh, was passed over for a ministerial berth, again. Sources, however, said that unlike in 2014 and 2019, when she pitched for Singh's induction to the Union cabinet, Raje, cast aside from mainstream politics in the desert state herself, did not push for her son's accommodation on the list of ministers this time.