Jaipur: Politics makes strange bed fellows. Till a few months ago Kirori Lal Meena was a sworn enemy of chief minister Vasundhara Raje. And now, he is said to be her choice for the state president.
Dr Meena met home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday morning. Prior to that Dr Meena held a long meeting with chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who herself had met the home minister on Thursday evening.
It seems, after party president Amit Shah rejected several names from her side, the CM is said to have proposed Dr Meena’s name. By doing so, Ms Raje has surely sprung a surprise as till recently they did not see eye to eye. Dr Meena had left the BJP a decade ago, following tussle with her and his re-entry in the party and nomination to Rajya Sabha was believed to be against her wishes.
However, the CM is trying to hit two birds with one stone. She cannot be accused of foisting her choice and having virtual monopoly in the state because it was Mr Shah who facilitated Dr Kirori Lal Meena’s return to he party. Naturally, he could not be seen as her proxy.
More importantly from her viewpoint, Dr Meena for his strong image of a caste leader cannot be challenge to her for the CM’s post should the BJP comes back to power. It will also help her endeavours of a formidable caste combination of two most influential castes that hold sway over nearly half 50 percent assembly seats.
By stalling Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s name, Ms Raje expects to win over trust of Jat community, which is capable of a swing in as many as 50 seats.
