Madanlal Saini appointed Rajasthan BJP chief

New Delhi: BJP Rajya Sabha member Madanlal Saini was on Friday appointed the party's Rajasthan President after two and half months of deliberations between Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and party President Amit Shah.

"BJP President Amit Shah has appointed Madanlal Saini as Rajasthan BJP chief. He has been appointed state BJP chief with immediate effect," BJP General Secretary Arun Singh said in a press release.

Saini, who was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan in April, is said to be the consensus choice of Raje and Shah. He will replace Ashok Parnami, who resigned from the post in April this year.

The appointment on this post was stuck between the differences between Shah and Raje. Shah wanted Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as the new state BJP chief but Raje opposed his name, citing various reasons including that she wanted a Jat leader for the post.

Shekhawat, a Rajput leader, who represents Jodhpur parliamentary constituency, congratulated Saini for his appointment.

Also Read: Sushil Modi rules out bringing petrol, diesel under GST

"Congratulations to Sainiji. Let all workers of BJP family come together and work to from BJP government in the state again in 2018," he said in a tweet.

Saini's appointment comes in the run-up to assembly polls in the state slated for later in 2018.

The BJP suffered a jolt in recent bypolls to Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha constituencies and the Mandalgarh Assembly segment as the voters of these constituencies elected Congress candidates.

The appointment of Saini as state BJP chief is is also being seen as move of the party to counter Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who belongs to same caste as that of Saini.

Saini, who was an MLA from Udaipurwati in Jhunjhunu, is also a member of BJP's discliplinary committee. Associated with Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, He is also considered close to RSS.