BJP appoints Madan Rathore as State President amid caste equation shift

Jaipur: BJP’s newly appointed State President, Madan Rathore, has experienced a significant shift in his political fortunes. Although his ticket was cut during the assembly elections, the party later appointed him as a Rajya Sabha MP. Now, Rathore has been entrusted with the additional responsibility of leading the party as its new state president.

This turnaround is reminiscent of the political rise of Madanlal Saini, who also achieved dual roles as both a Rajya Sabha MP and State President.

RSS volunteer Madan Rathore, aged 69, hails from Pali district and has served as the district president of Pali four times. He has previously been an MLA from Sumerpur twice and now faces the challenge of steering the party in his new leadership role.

The change became evident after it was revealed that CP Joshi, who was the president until now, had offered his resignation to the party high command in an effort to balance caste equations. With by-elections pending for five seats in Rajasthan, maintaining caste balance within the party has become increasingly crucial.

Sources indicate that this was Joshi’s third resignation offer. The first was made after the assembly election results, the second after receiving a Lok Sabha ticket, and the most recent before National President JP Nadda. Joshi reportedly expressed his desire to focus on the Lok Sabha elections during his meeting with the high command, seeking relief from state chief responsibilities. Meanwhile, other leaders argued to the high command that having both the state president and the chief minister from the same caste might not be feasible.