As Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma approaches the two-year mark in office this December, he has shifted his focus towards listening to grievances, tightening coordination between government and party workers, and preparing for a busy political calendar in the months ahead. He asserted that 80 per cent of the promises made in the last two budgets have been fulfilled.
Sharma was a surprise choice when he was named over other veteran leaders as the state chief minister. Since then, he has been cementing his position in a state which has seen revolving-door politics in which a new government is elected every poll. While the polls may be three years away, the BJP wants to put in place a robust organisational structure with a focus on developmental work carried out by the government.
Sharma began a two-day marathon of consultations at his Jaipur residence with MPs, MLAs, BJP district presidents and party leaders. The outreach, seen as both a stock-taking exercise and a confidence-building measure, reflects the chief minister’s effort to strengthen the bond between government and grassroots workers ahead of upcoming programmes.
Sharma told the elected representatives to dedicate themselves to the mission of Viksit Rajasthan 2047.
Sharma highlighted flagship initiatives for irrigation and drinking water, and providing daytime electricity to all farmers by 2027. The meeting was attended by veteran state leaders, including state BJP president Madan Rathore, and former chiefs Ashok Parnami and C. P. Joshi.
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Former leader of the opposition and BJP leader Rajendra Rathore said 80 per cent of the promises made in the last two budgets have been implemented.
The meeting comes weeks ahead of the crucial RSS national coordination meeting to be held in Jodhpur in September. The coordination meeting is a gathering of all the Sangh frontal organisations to discuss issues in society, coordination with the BJP government and also serves as a key platform to share feedback. National issues are taken up for discussion, and even state ones are brought to the notice of the house.
Past BJP governments had suffered in the state owing to a lack of coordination between the elected government and the party organisation, which resulted in a poor show during the elections when even the BJP and RSS cadre gave a lukewarm response to campaigning — a situation which Sharma would want to avoid and where he would seek to quell any doubts about his leadership.
The government and organisation will join ranks to observe Seva Pakhwada (service fortnight) organised on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. To mark Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary in October, a 150-km padyatra will be organised in every parliamentary constituency.
In December, the state will again hold Rising Rajasthan, a global investors’ meet, which had brought attention to the state as it hard-sold its better connectivity, safety record and infrastructure.
