The BJP government in Rajasthan, led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, completed one year in office on Sunday with a number of accomplishments, including the creation of more than 1.24 lakh jobs, a crackdown on the paper-leak mafia and signing an MoU regarding the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project.
The government organised an investment summit in its first year and signed memoranda of understanding worth Rs 34 lakh crore, a step towards realising its vision of increasing the economy size of the desert state to USD 350 billion, for which the ruling regime has effected a 65-per cent increase in capital expenditure in this year’s budget.
Winning five of the seven seats in the recently-held Assembly bypolls is also being credited to the efficiency of Sharma’s leadership.
However, the palpable discord of Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, indecisiveness on issues, such as the formation of new districts by the former Congress government, the controversial sub-inspector recruitment of 2021 and “one state, one election”, are pressing matters before the government.
State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, on the other hand, has claimed that bureaucracy has dominated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan.
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Dotasra has accused the government of being indecisive and running on “paper-slip” orders given to it by the Centre.
When Sharma, a first-time MLA took the reins of the geographically-largest state in the country on December 15 last year, people were excited about a new chief minister after Vasudhara Raje (two terms) and Ashok Gehlot (three terms) ruled the state for 25 years. At the same time, they were also apprehensive about the new chief minister’s performance.
Sharma was chosen over stalwarts like Raje.
However, with his hard-working style, coupled with a humble as well as balanced approach, Sharma proved his mettle by achieving several milestones in the government and also by showcasing his political acumen, which earned accolades from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the completion of a year in office, the state government has listed a number of achievements across various sectors, including infrastructure, education, healthcare, rural and urban development, transport and industry.
After coming to power, Sharma announced the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe paper-leak cases. The SIT arrested several people, including more than 50 trainee sub-inspectors selected in a recruitment drive in 2021.
The government has given appointments on 32,254 posts and the recruitment process for 91,928 posts is on.
Under the “Mukhyamantri Kisan Samman Nidhi” scheme that gives Rs 2,000 each in addition to the Rs 6,000 to the beneficiaries of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, a total amount of Rs 653.4 crore has been transferred to more than 65 lakh farmers. The first installment of Rs 1,000 each was given in June and the second installment was transferred on December 13.
A tripartite MoU was signed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the Centre for the Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal-ERCP Link Project for the irrigation and drinking water requirements of the eastern Rajasthan districts.
The Congress had accused Modi of not giving a national project’s status to the ERCP. The BJP government took up the project on priority after coming to power in the state.
The government also organised the Rising Rajasthan Investment summit and signed MoUs worth Rs 34 lakh crore.
The initiative was taken in the first year so that the investment commitments can be translated on the ground in the next four years.
“Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and his team have done a great job in a very short time. The efficiency and commitment with which the administration is engaged in the development of Rajasthan is amazing,” Modi had said while inaugurating the summit on December 9.
Coming from a very ordinary background, Sharma was chosen over stalwarts like Raje. In fact, it was Raje who had announced his name by reading it out from a slip sent by the party high-command.
Within a month of the new government’s formation in the desert state, the BJP lost the poll contest from the Karanpur Assembly constituency in the farmer-dominated Ganganagar district despite making its candidate, Surendra Pal Singh TT, a minister.
The Assembly election was deferred in Karanpur due to the death of the Congress candidate.
The situation turned more challenging with the Lok Sabha poll results, where the BJP secured 14 of the 25 seats, with the Congress winning eight and its INDIA bloc partners winning the remaining three seats. This was a significant change from 2014, when the BJP swept all 25 seats, and 2019, when the NDA secured all seats (BJP 24, RLP one).
Pressure continued to mount on Sharma with Agriculture Minister Meena, who was in the race for the chief minister’s post, submitting his resignation for not being able to secure victories for the party candidates in some of the Lok Sabha seats in eastern Rajasthan.
The resignation was not accepted, but Meena continued to create embarrassment for the government.
Despite all challenges and pressures, the narrative changed with the BJP winning five of the seven seats in the recently-held bypolls.
Sharma and his team steered through the challenges and described the government’s first year in office as a year of momentous achievements.
However, the government has not been able to take a decision on the SI recruitment of 2021. Sharma has to take a call on whether the examination should be cancelled.
A decision on the newly-formed districts is also pending, despite a review.
