To retain power in R'sthan is priority: new BJP prez

After taking charge of the state BJP, newly-appointed president Madan Lal Saini, in his first address, said the party’s workers are his priority and they will be respected.

While addressing the media at the BJP headquarters in Jaipur, Saini who, took over his new position amid the chanting of Vedic rituals said, said he was a common worker of the party — a farmer's son who even today ploughs his field and takes buses.

In his maiden speech at party headquarters on Saturday, he said the upcoming Assembly elections are a big challenge.

"The new post is a crown of thorns. These are testing times and we have work hard to retain power in the state," Saini said.

He also tried to boost the morale of the party workers who are at present feeling low after the BJP lost in the recent bypolls and without a president of the last three months.

With 25 seats in the Lok Sabha, Rajasthan, which votes for the 200-member Assembly later this year, the new position is crucial for Saini.

After the position of president lay vacant for three months, selecting 75-year-old Saini, an OBC member, is seen as a move to make sure backward caste votes don't swing the Congress' way and give their star Ashok Gehlot a tough competition.

Both leaders belong to the same community. The post of the president has been lying vacant every since Ashok Parnami resigned on April 18.