By B S Reporter
If presence of union cabinet minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Brahmin Mahapanchayat in Jaipur is any indication, state BJP is likely to get a ‘surprise leadership' in coming times.
The cabinet minister was also a surprise entrant in the Modi cabinet in 2021 when the prime minister plucked him from a relative oblivion to the coveted post of Railway, IT minister. His election in Rajya Sabha from Odisha in 2019 too was a big surprise as Vaishnaw got elected on BJP ticket despite his party having just 23 MLAs – not enough number for election. But Modi called up Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to sail him through with BJD support.
Vaishnaw, who has a knack to springing surprises, called upon all the Brahmin delegates to address as Ashwini Bhai.
“I am brother of you all. Never call me Ashwiniji or Sir, always call me Ashwini Bhai,” he announced at the Mahapanchayat which demanded for a Brahmin CM in the next election.
Vaishnaw, who hails from Pali, has a strong root in Rajasthan. He studied in Jodhpur before taking an M.Tech degree from IIT. His frequent visits toRajasthan in the last 6 months and ambiguity in BJP state leadership has up the antennae of political analysts.
“There has been no Brahmin CM from BJP so far. Congress had four CMs from this community. Though from Bairagi community, BJP is projecting Vaishnaw as a Brahmin representative. So in current disposition and changing equations, one can't rule out surprise annexation of Ashwini Bhai,” said a BJP leader, who belongs to Rajput community, which has given both the BJP CMs – Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Vasundhara Raje.
Right from the first CM of Rajasthan – Pandit Hira Lal Shastri- Congress has given chance to three more Brahmins so far – Jai Narayan Vyas, Tikaram Paliwal and Hari Dev Joshi.
The BJP may go for a non Rajput CM this time and then Vaishnaw holds great chance. A Wharton graduate Vaishnaw has been honing his public speaking skills for long. He made the full use of his skills and called upon Brahmins for unity and greater bonding.
“Our unity will go a long way in nation building and removal of iniquity. You all are here to don justice and righteousness. You have to always protect this,” he said.
He also used this platform to play ‘rail politics' and said that the railways is going to upgrade 82 stations into world class stations.
“Ten years ago, Rajasthan would get only Rs 600 crore from Railways. Now it gets a grant of 9,533 crore. We are focusso g big on development of railway infrastructure in the state,” he said.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
