Bhajan Lal Sharma Gets Chief Minister Chair On Birthday And Wish From PM

Jaipur/New Delhi:

BJP’s Bhajan Lal Sharma took oath as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan today which also happens to be his birthday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also attended his swearing-in in Jaipur, shared an image on X -formerly known as Twitter – to wish him.

“Birthday greetings to Rajasthan’s CM Shri Bhajan Lal Sharma Ji. A dedicated Party Karyakarta for years, he has made commendable efforts to strengthen BJP across the state. As he embarks on his Chief Ministerial journey, I wish him the very best in fulfilling people’s aspirations,” he wrote.

Birthday greetings to Rajasthan’s CM Shri Bhajan Lal Sharma Ji. A dedicated Party Karyakarta for years, he has made commendable efforts to strengthen BJP across the state. As he embarks on his Chief Ministerial journey, I wish him the very best in fulfilling people’s aspirations.… pic.twitter.com/gtyxOchzNy

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 15, 2023

Mr Sharma has two deputies – “People’s princess” Diya Kumari, who was an aspirant for the top post – and senior leader Prem Chand Bairwa.

Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa were sworn-in as Deputy Chief Ministers immediately after Bhajan Lal Sharma took the oath.

The oath event was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states among others.

Former chief minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot also attended the swearing-in. Mr Gehlot sat next to “rival” Gajendra Singh Shekhwat.

Mr Sharma, initially associated with the ABVP, the student wing of the party’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has always kept a low profile. He is seen as an organisation man by party colleagues.

The party won 115 seats in the 200-member Assembly in the elections, whose results were declared on December 3. Polling did not take place in the Karanpur seat of Sriganganagar district after the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kooner.

In the run-up to the elections, the BJP had not declared the chief ministerial face and had decided to bank on collective leadership and the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unseat the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government.