Rajasthan: BJP Appoints MP Radha Madan Rathod As New State Party President, Replaces CP Joshi

The BJP has changed the state party president and in charge in Rajasthan Rajya Sabha MP Madan Rathod has been appointed as the party president while MP Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal will take over as the state in charge of the party.

The development has come after almost one and half month of Loksabha elections in which the party lost 11 out of total 25 seats. 

Madan Rathod will replace CP Joshi who had met the central leadership and offered to resign from the post of state president. Madan Rathore, comes from the RSS stock, hails from Pali.

Rathod was elected member of Rajya Sabha recently. His elevation as party president has been taken as a move to strengthened the party's vote bank of original OBC. He hails from the Ghanchi caste, which is mostly found in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The BJP’s focus this time is on the OBC vote bank, which influences at least 82 Assembly seats in the state. The OBC population in Rajasthan is just over 50 per cent.

Rathore has been a two-time MLA from Sumerpur in Pali district and was the deputy chief whip in the House during the tenure of Vasundhara Raje from 2013 to 2018, but Interestingly, was denied ticket from Sumerpur in the recent assembly elections, and he was about to contest as an independent, however after a call from PM Narendra Modi he supported the party candidate and later was sent to Rajya Sabha. 

The party has also changed the state in-charge. Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh and National General Secretary of the party, Dr. Radhamohan Das Agarwal has been replaced with Arun Singh, while Vijaya Rahatkar has been retained as the co-in charge of the state.