By B S Reporter
Ahead of assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started reshuffling his cards in Rajasthan. To start with, he drew out senior most BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria from active politics and offered him the coveted post of Assam Governor.
The 79-year-old ardent RSS loyalist was first elected as an MLA in 1977, then in 1980. He has won all assembly elections since 1993, and has served as a member of the House for eight times.
He was prominent among the early leaders of the Jansangh-BJP.
He is the third leader from Rajasthan who has got appointed to the Assam Raj Bhavan. Earlier, Congress leaders Harideo Joshi and Shiv Charan Mathur were appointed as governors of the state.
Kataria has a strong hold on southern Rajasthan, along with Udaipur, and he has been influencing about 25 seats in districts such as Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Rajsamand. Kataria's influence is such that despite losing power in 2018, the BJP won 15 out of 28 seats in Udaipur division and 6 out of 8 in Udaipur district.
His absence will be badly felt when BJP takes on the Gehlot government in the coming elections.
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