The BJP's chief minister picks for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have taken the country by surprise. And so are the choices for deputy chief ministers.
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP selected OBC leader Mohan Yadav as CM while naming Schedule Caste leader Jagadish Devda and Brahmin leader Rajendra Shukla as deputies. Similarly, BJP took caste factors into account while choosing first-time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma as Rajasthan's chief. The deputy picks for Rajasthan are Jaipur royal Diya Kumari who is a Rajput and Prem Chand Bairwa who is a Dalit.
Who is Diya Kumari?
Diya Kumari, 52, was brought in as a woman leader from the dominant Rajput community to fill the vacuum left by former CM Vasundhara Raje. The MLA from Vidhyadhar Nagar is the granddauughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the erstwhile Jaipur princely state. She was an MLA from Sawai Madhopur between 2013 and 2018. In 2019, she became a Lok Sabha MP from Rajsamand.
She has two sons, Padmanabh Singh and Lakshraj Prakash Singh, and a daughter, Gaurav Kumari. She had divorced her husband, Narendra Singh, in December 2018. She has graduate diploma in fine art (decorative painting) from Chelsea School of Arts, London, and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Amity University, Jaipur.
Who is Prem Chand Bairwa?
Prem Chand Bairwa, 54, is an MLA from Dudu. The Dalit MLA previously won assembly elections in 2013 from the same seat. However, he had lost the polls in 2018 to Congress candidate Babulal Nagar.
Bairwa began his political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1995. He is also the president of Bairava Mahasabha and co-in-charge of BJP SC Morcha. He has an MPhil and a PhD, according to reports.
