Ram temple and Article 370 issues were close to Rajasthan CM-designate Bhajan Lal Sharma's heart

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, December 13

With the finalisation of yet another grassroots worker as the chief minister, the BJP on Tuesday gave a clear message to its cadres that the top posts in the party were not the preserve of a select few.

BJP’s Rajasthan CM pick Bhajan Lal Sharma stands in stark contrast to erstwhile royal and two-time ex-CM Vasundhara Raje whom he will succeed in the leadership race.

Sharma comes from a humble family of Bharatpur’s Atari village and worked his way up the ladder in the BJP.

He started out as a sarpanch of his village and went on to associate with the RSS student wing ABVP at the start of his public life.

In the Vidyarthi Parishad, Sharma aligned with BJP’s core agenda of J&K integration by way of abrogation of Article 370 and participated in the ABVP’s Kashmir march in 1990. Later in 1992 Sharma was jailed for participation in the Ram Mandir movement.

A diehard organisation man, Sharma went on to become Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Bharatpur district chief and later the BJP chief in the district.

Currently he was serving as BJP general secretary in charge of headquarters in Jaipur.

An RSS protege, Sharma represents the general castes, a loyal electoral base of the BJP.

A general category CM in times of reservation debate sends a signal of solidarity with the upper castes and reassures them of their place in the power pie.