 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2023) |
Politics of Rajasthan is mainly dominated by two parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress. The current government in Rajasthan is that of the Bhartiya Janata Party and Bhajan Lal Sharma is the Chief Minister.
Rajasthan's politics has mainly been dominated by the two state stalwarts, namely, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Mohan Lal Sukhadia of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress respectively. Shri Sukhadia ruled Rajasthan for 17 years and died in February 1982 while Late Shri Shekhawat was in the national political horizon. The earlier politics were dominated by the Congress party. The main opposition party was the Bharatiya Jansangh, headed by Rajasthan's most popular leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and the Swatantra party headed by former rulers of Rajasthan. The Congress rule was untouched till the year 1962. But in 1967, Jansangh headed by Shekhawat and Swatantra party headed by Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur reached the majority point but couldn't form a government. In 1972, the Congress won a landslide victory following the victory in the 1971 war. But after the declaration of emergency, Shekhawat became immensely popular, especially after he was forced to be arrested and was sent to Rohtak Jail in Haryana. As soon as the emergency was lifted, a joint opposition Janta Party won a thundering landslide victory winning 151 of the 200 seats. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister. The government was dismissed by Indira Gandhi in 1980 after she restored power in Delhi. In the 1980 elections, the Janta Party split at the centre giving the Congress a victory in Rajasthan.
Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, and in 1985, a sympathy wave let the Congress sail through in the elections. But in 1989, which could be called a Shekhawat wave, the BJP-JD alliance won all 25 Lok Sabha seats and 140 of 200 seats in the assembly. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister for the second term. Though Janta Dal took back its support to the Shekhawat government, Shekhawat tore apart the JD and continued to rule as the Chief Minister thus earning the title of master manipulator. After the Babri Mosque demolition in Ayodhya, Shekhawat government was suspended by the P.M., P.V.Narasimha Rao and President's rule was enforced in Rajasthan. Election took place in 1993 in which his party won even after the breaking of its alliance with the Janta Dal. But the then Governor Bali Ram Bhagat didn't allow Shekhawat to form the government, but after immense pressure from Shekhawat, who reached the majority point after supports from independents like Sardar Gurjant Singh, Rani Narendra Kanwar, Sujan Singh Yadav, Rohitashva Kumar Sharma, Kr. Arun Singh, Sundar Lal etc. crossed the majority line of 101 seats in the assembly. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister for the third term. This time he ran a successful third term. This was perhaps the diamond phase for Rajasthan as it led to all-round development and Rajasthan also gained identity on the globe as a rapidly developing and beautiful state. Shekhawat introduced Heritage, Desert, Rural, Wildlife tourism to Rajasthan in 1998 elections, the BJP lost heavily due to the onion price rise issue.
After the 1999 elections, both parties saw a major change in leadership. Congress saw the rise of Ashok Gehlot, who lost the Lok Sabha elections in 1999, only 6 months after its victory in the assembly elections, but was successful in running a 5 year government. Whereas, Shekhawat became the Vice-President of India in 2002 so he had to leave Rajasthan politics and the BJP. He appointed Vasundhara Raje as his successor. She led the BJP in 2003 elections and led it to a victory.
With the successful poll campaign, Raje took over as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 2003 - 2008. Narpat Singh Rajvi was the Health Minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari was the Food Minister, Digamber Singh was Industries Minister and Gulab Chand Kataria was the Home Minister. The BJP won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from here as well. But the tables turned in December 2008, when the infighting within the BJP, Raje's perceived autocratic and despotic rule, and the police excesses in the Gurjar-Meena agitation combined to overcome the incumbent Raje government's development and growth planks, and the Congress emerged victorious with the support of some independent MLA's. Ashok Gehlot was sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan. In 2013 Bharatiya Janata Party won by very large difference. BJP got 163 seats and Congress got only 21 seats out of 200 seats. Vasundhara Raje became the Chief Minister for second time. But in 2018 Indian National Congress flipped the state again with a big majority and Ashok Gehlot became the Chief Minister for the third time. Gehlot for his political acumen received a title of Jadugar (magician) of Rajasthan politics. During these 25 years, he had established deep roots in the Congress cadre and good relations with the Gandhi family, but this victory saw rise of a young leader, Sachin Pilot, who later indirectly claimed the CM seat. The high voltage drama of 2020 unfolded in the state politics when PCC chief and deputy chief minister Pilot, with 18 supporting MLAs, staged a protest against their own government outside the Raj Bhawan. [1] The power struggle spilled out in open when 30 MLAs moved to a hotel in Manesar, Haryana (a state ruled by BJP). [2] This was the time Gehlot proved his magic really works. He managed to save his government with a support from independents and with merger of 6 BSP MLAs into Congress. The event however changed the course of governance. Pilot on multiple occasions criticized his own government, for charges which later built-up support for BJP including the Paper Leak Scams. Gehlot government brought some laws and increased the penalties to curb paper leak cases but the opposition made it a successful poll agenda, which was seen as one of the major failure of Gehlot's third government. [3]
The exchange of power between the two major parties BJP and Congress was popularly termed as Riwaj (tradition, of changing the party in power). Later on, media coverage and political slogans popularized the terms Raaj Badlega(government will change) and Riwaj Badlega(the tradition, of changing ruling party, will change). The results of elections however established that Riwaj continued for the sixth time in 2023. The BJP turned the tables with a swift victory by winning 115 seats in 2023 elections. But this time Rajasthan politics saw a major turn of events as the BJP leadership changed the CM and appointed a lesser known face Bhajan Lal Sharma. This was seen as an effort to sideline Raje after infightings in the state unit of BJP and is widely seen as rise of new era in Rajasthan politics as BJP has garnered a new generation of leaders and congress yet to decide on its future leadership.
In the state of Rajasthan caste plays an important role in the electoral dynamics and the role of these some communities in state and general elections is described below.
The Jat community in Rajasthan has a long standing agricultural tradition and has been a key player in the state's political sphere for several decades. [4] [5] The community became notably active in politics during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A notable milestone in their political history was the establishment of kingdoms such as Bharatpur and Dholpur by Maharaja Suraj Mal and Maharana Kirat Singh. [6] [7] [8]
Since India didn’t conducted a caste-based census after 1931 and thus it is currently unknown that exactly how many Jat people live in Rajasthan. But the estimated Jat population is approx 1 crore or 8 to 10 percent of total population of Rajasthan, which makes the Jat community most populated caste in Rajasthan state. [9] [10] [11] [12]
In the modern era, the Jats of Rajasthan have political influence is due to their historical legacy and their demographic presence. As per the recent reports, Jats comprise around 8 to 10 percent of the total electorate in Rajasthan. [13] [14]
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was an Indian politician who served as the vice president of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on 21 July 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha Patil. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan three times, from 1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992 and 1993 to 1998. He represented several constituencies in Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha from 1952 to 2002. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in the year 2003.
Parasram Maderna was an Indian politician who was a nine-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Rajasthan between 1957 and 2003. He was the Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2004 and a three-time Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. A senior Jat leader, he served as a Cabinet Minister in the Rajasthan government for several portfolios. He also served as the President of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee from 1989 to 1994. He was an MLA from the Bhopalgarh constituency six times, which included four consecutive terms from 1967 to 1985. He also served as MLA twice from the Osian constituency and once from the Gudamalani constituency.
Although India is a parliamentary democracy, the country's politics has become dynastic or with high level of nepotism, possibly due to the absence of party organizations, independent civil-society associations which mobilize support for a party, or centralized financing of elections. The dynastic phenomenon is present at the national, state, regional, and district level. The Nehru–Gandhi family has produced three Indian prime ministers, and family members have largely led the Congress party since 1978. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also has several dynastic leaders. In addition to the major national parties, other national and regional parties such as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal Secular, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kerala Congress, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Indian Union Muslim League, AIMIM, and the Nationalist Congress Party are all dominated by families, mostly those of the party founders.
This is the alphabetical categorised list of statewide, regional and local political families involved in the politics and various elections of Rajasthan, at state and National level.
Ashok Gehlot is an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 1998 to December 2003, then again from 2008 to December 2013, and later from 2018 to December 2023. He represents Sardarpura constituency of Jodhpur as Member of Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan since 1999. He was a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Jodhpur from 1991 to 1999 and from 1980 to 1989 and Union Minister of State for Textile from 1991 to 1993, Tourism and Civil aviation from 1984 to 1984 and Deputy Union minister for Sports from 1984 to 1984. He was also a national General secretary of Congress Party, in-charge of organisations and training from March 2018 to 23 January 2019. He was also made in-charge of Gujarat state in 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.
Colonel Sonaram Choudhary is an Indian politician, and a member of the Indian National Congress since 2014. He represented Barmer constituency in Rajasthan, India, in Lok Sabha for Indian National Congress, winning elections in 1996, 1998, 1999. He lost 2004 Lok Sabha elections to BJP's Manavendra Singh. Later, he left Congress and joined Bhartiya Janta Party before 2014 Indian general elections. He was declared candidate of BJP from Barmer instead of veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh, and won 2014 elections.
Captain Sachin Rajesh Pilot is an Indian politician. A member of the Indian National Congress, he has been serving as Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from Tonk since 2018. He has previously served as Minister of State of Corporate Affairs and Communication and IT in the Government of India under Manmohan Singh. Additionally he served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 2018 to 2020 under Ashok Gehlot. Pilot became the youngest citizen of India to become Member of Parliament at the age of 26.
Maharaja Vishvendra Singh, also known as Vishvendra Singh, is the titular Maharaja of Bharatpur and a politician who has served as the cabinet minister of tourism and civil aviation in Government of Rajasthan from November 2021 to December 2023. He served as the Minister of Tourism and Devasthan in the Government of Rajasthan from December 2018 to July 2020. He was elected to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for three terms representing Nadbai in 1993 and Deeg-Kumher in 2013 and 2018. He was also elected to the Lok Sabha representing Bharatpur in 1989, 1999 and 2004.
The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party is an Indian political party in the state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Hanuman Beniwal on 29 October 2018, on the eve of the 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election with the aim of addressing the regional issues, particularly of the farmer community.
C. P. Joshi is an Indian politician and a five-time MLA from Nathdwara, Rajasthan. He was born in a Brahmin family in Nathdwara, Rajasthan and he is a member of the Indian National Congress. He has previously served as Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Previously, he was the Member of Parliament of India from Bhilwara in the 15th Lok Sabha. He was one of the first 19 members of India's new cabinet sworn in on 22 May 2009, despite being a first-time member of the Lok Sabha. As a union minister, Joshi held key portfolios like Road Transport and Highways, and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in the Second Manmohan Singh ministry. Moreover, he was also a Cabinet Minister of the Government of Rajasthan from 1998 to 2003.
Sharwan Kumar is an Indian politician serving as member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. He has been elected as member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for six-terms. He is a member of the Indian National Congress.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is an Indian politician who is serving as Minister of Culture and Minister of Tourism since 2024. He is a member of parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representing Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha.
Kalu Lal Gurjar is a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and currently the President Of Rajasthan Gujar Mahasabha. He served as the Government Chief Whip in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 2013 to 2018. He also served as the cabinet minister in Government of Rajasthan led by Vasundhara Raje and also served as Mines minister in Government of Rajasthan led by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. He represents Mandal constituency of Bhilwara district in the assembly and has been elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly for four times. Gujar is also the Chairman of Devnarayan Charitable Trust.
Bharatiya Janata Party, Rajasthan is the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan. Madan Rathore is the current president of the BJP Rajasthan, succeeding Chandra Prakash Joshi who served the position from 2023–2024. Vasundhara Raje was the previous Chief Minister of Rajasthan during 2013–2018, previously she served in the same post from 2003 to 2008. She was the first female Chief Minister of Rajasthan. And the former president of the BJP Rajasthan.
Banwari Lal Sharma was an Indian politician, who served as a Cabinet minister in the Government of Rajasthan. Sharma spent over 50 years in politics representing Dholpur and defeated the likes of Vasundhara Raje Scindia and gave a tough challenge to Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Vice President of India.
On 12 July 2020, around 19 members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, as claimed by the then Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot, flew to Delhi after disputes over different offices between rival factions of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, starting a governmental crisis in the state of Rajasthan.
Legislative Assembly elections were held in Rajasthan on 25 November 2023 to elect 199 of the 200 members of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. The results were declared on 3 December 2023. The election for the Karanpur seat was adjourned following the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kooner.
Madan Prajapat is an Indian politician from Rajasthan who has served in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly since 2018. He previously served in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 2008 to 2013. Prajapat represents Pachpadra as a member of the Indian National Congress.
Shobha Rani Kushwaha is an Indian politician and a member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Dholpur Assembly constituency. She was elected from Dholpur constituency in 2017 bypolls and consecutively in 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly elections, as a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party. Her husband Banwari Lal Kushwaha preceded her as MLA from Dholpur constituency in 2013 Assembly elections. She was expelled from Bharatiya Janata Party after it was revealed that she had done cross voting in favour of Indian National Congress candidate in Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. She is considered as a close accomplice of former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje. She switched to Indian National Congress in 2023 and retained the Dholpur seat in 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election.
{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)As a compensation for Gohad, the Jat ruler Rana Kirat Singh was given Dhaulpur, Badi and Rajakheda; Kirat Singh moved to Dhaulpur in December 1805. Ballabhgarh was another important princely state founded by the Jats of the Tewatia ...
| Outline |  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governance | |||||||||||||||
| Divisions and districts |
| ||||||||||||||
| Major cities | |||||||||||||||
| Related templates | |||||||||||||||
