Rajasthan MPs rewarded for defeating UPA ministers

Two MPs from Rajasthan — Sawar Lal Jat and Rajyavardhan Rathore – have been inducted into the Union Cabinet as Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of Ministers on Sunday.

Both the leaders have been rewarded for defeating two senior Congress leaders who were also former Union ministers in the UPA regime. The caste politics of Rajasthan is also seen as a major reason behind the elevation of two leaders in team Modi.

According to party leaders, both MPs belong to Jat and Rajput communities and none of the previous Union governments have ever ignored the representation of the communities in the Centre. Rajput community is traditional vote bank of the BJP while Jats have been the Congress loyalists. This was the first time when both communities voted for Narendra Modi. In such a scenario, Rajputs got their loyalty bonus while Jats have been paid for their shift of loyalty.

“Sawar Lal is close to Raje but is a prominent Jat leader. Sawar Lal won the Assembly election and was made Cabinet minister in the first shot. But party wanted to field a Jat candidate against Sachin Pilot in the Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency and Sawar Lal was the best bet. He was reportedly promised a Cabinet berth in Center after which he made his mind to contest Lok Sabha polls,” said a senior BJP legislator.

Leaders are of the view that after the shift of loyalty by Jat community, both in Assembly and Parliament elections, the BJP had compulsion to accommodate at least one Jat leaders from Rajasthan in the Union Cabinet.

Rajyavardhan Rathore is another prominent name in Rajput community who has direct links with top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to his clean image and international achievements in the field of sports, Rathore was named as youth ambassador of the party. During Lok Sabha elections, Rathore was seen sharing dais with Narendra Modi in several political rallies in the country.

Sawar Lal Jat contested Lok Sabha elections from Ajmer constituency and defeated former UPA minister and present PCC chief Sachin Pilot.