A problem of plenty awaits Vasundhara Raje, the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Rajasthan, with the party already having bagged 162 out of 199 seats in the elections held on December 1.
The lone constituency where election was countermanded is going to the polls on December 13 has party veteran and Raje confidant Rajendra Rathore in the fray. It is also certain that he will comfortably win the seat, giving the party an overwhelming 163 seats in the 200-member Assembly.
Raje has to now contend with the problem of satisfying the growing number of aspirants for the very few ministerial berths. As per the constitutional provision, the cabinet size cannot exceed 15 per cent of the strength of the Assembly. Thus, Raje has only 30 ministerial berths to offer.
Under her previous tenure, Raje had used the post of parliamentary secretaries with ministerial ranks to satisfy some of the MLAs. But this time, the saffron party is faced with a moral dilemma. The BJP leaders had questioned the Ashok Gehlot government‘s decision to appoint some independent MLAs and BSP MLAs who joined the Congress later with the post of parliamentary secretaries with ministerial ranks in the high court.