New Delhi/Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) 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 with immediate effect," BJP General Secretary Arun Singh said in a press release.
Making a simultaneous announcement in Jaipur, BJP Rajasthan in charge Avinash Rai Khanna said the party has put its trust on Saini who has been a grassroot worker.
"This will send a positive message to the entire state and the BJP workers will stay motivated to bring in positive results in forthcoming elections," he said in the presence of state minister Arun Chaturvedi, former BJP state President Ashok Parnami, state General Secretary Bhajanlal Sharma, media chief Anand Sharma and others.
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 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.
"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 this year and is being seen as a move to counter Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who belongs to same caste as that of Saini.
The BJP suffered a jolt in recent bypolls to Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha constituencies and the Mandalgarh Assembly segment as the voters elected Congress candidates.
Saini, who was an MLA from Udaipurwati in Jhunjhunu, is also a member of BJP's disciplinary committee. Associated with Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, he is considered close to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
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