When BJP president Amit Shah and PM Modi zeroed in on P.P. Choudhary as replacement for water resources minister Sanwar Lal Jat, perhaps they were not aware that every person with a Choudhary surname was not necessarily a Jat. On the eve of Cabinet expansion, only two MPs, Arjun Ram Meghwal and PP Choudhary were among those who had received invitation for evening tea from the BJP president to break the news to them that they were going to be sworn in as ministers in the cabinet expansion on Tuesday. Nagaur MP CR Choudhary was not among them.
However, as soon as the news spread that water resources minister Sanwar Lal Jat would be dropped and PP Choudhary, MP from Pali would replace him, the Jat community decided to let the BJP leadership know about the consequences of dropping a Jat without replacing him with another person from the community. Rajasthan Jat Mahasabha President Rajaram Meel immediately faxed letters to the PM and the BJP president telling them that P.P. Choudhary was not a Jat, which is true because despite the surname ‘Choudhary,’ PP Choudhary is actually a Sirvi.
A couple of ministers alerted the party leadership about the adverse political fallout for annoying the most influential caste in the state. As witnessed on many occasions in the past, the community once again succeeded in its aim by exerting pressure on leadership of a political party. Initially, only two new faces were supposed to be sworn in, but pressure from Jats forced the PM to accommodate one more.
