JAIPUR: There is a general perception that the appointment of senior Rajasthan leaders as governors has sidelined key figures who could emerge as power centres in state politics, political analysts say.
Om Prakash Mathur, 72, a former national vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two-time Rajya Sabha member, has been appointed governor of Sikkim. Mathur, who also served as governor of the state in 2008-09, was said to be a contender for the top job before the party zeroed in on the little-known Bhajanlal Sharma.
A close friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, he served as general secretary in Gujarat from 2002 to 2008. He also served in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh and is said to have played a key role in the BJP’s victory in Chhattisgarh last year.
A skilled strategist and organiser, Mathur is from the RSS and hails from Phalna area of Pali district, along with the newly appointed BJP state president Madan Rathore.
His appointment as Governor, and moreover as Governor of Sikkim, means relegating him to the background and keeping him away from the politics of the desert state.
Sharma reportedly said he would retire from politics once he takes up his constitutional post. “This indicates that by sidelining senior leaders like Mathur, Gulab Chand Kataria and Vasundhara Raj, the BJP leadership is trying to clear the way for newbie Sharma and rising forces. Secondly, through these appointments, the BJP wants to show that it cares for its senior leaders and has not abandoned them,” senior political analyst Narayan Bares told Deccan Herald.
Gulab Chand Kataria (79), one of the most influential leaders from the Udaipur region of southern Rajasthan and currently the governor of Assam, has been nominated to be the next governor of Punjab.
Being in Assam has felt a bit far-fetched for Kataria, who has served as the state’s home minister and other key posts during Raje’s tenure as chief minister in Rajasthan. Kataria had been in delicate contention for the top post during Raje’s tenure but has gradually been sidelined and relegated to a leadership role.
He has been a frequent visitor to his home state from Assam and his chance meeting with Rajasthan ahead of the state assembly elections sparked a lot of rumours. With AAP in power, his term in Punjab will not be easy. The only consolation is that Punjab is not far from Rajasthan.
Raj has served as chief minister twice and led the BJP to its biggest victory in the state, but he keeps a low profile.
However, during the Lok Sabha elections, she campaigned for her son Dushyant Singh and remained mainly in her base in Jhalawar Baran district, and did not campaign for other candidates.
The 71-year-old Raje, who is apparently yet to receive any concrete proposals despite his apparent marginalization from political life, has remained largely silent but did send a message when he said, “Today, people want to chop off their fingers that once held their own in order to learn to walk.”
Former Opposition Leader Rajendra Rathore, 69, has been out of the Opposition since losing his Taranagar assembly seat. He was expected to be given a seat in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, neither of which have happened so far.
The party got some “comfort” in terms of leadership when former state speaker Satish Poonia, who had hopes of a seat in the Lok Sabha after losing his state Assembly seat, was appointed as Haryana in-charge.
However, some political commentators say the BJP values its party leaders and workers, citing Chief Minister Sharma and current state president Madan Rathore as prime examples.
Published on July 28, 2024 at 09:16 IST
