Uncertainty prevailing over the status of Rajasthan Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena in the BJP for the past four months is keeping everybody in suspense.
The senior BJP leader and sitting Sawai Madhopur MLA Meena is a six-term legislator and three-time MP, who tendered his resignation from the cabinet on moral grounds in June following his party’s defeat in Dausa and six other neighbouring parliamentary seats in eastern Rajasthan in the general elections.
The resignation is reported to be pending in the Chief Minister’s Office.
Since his resignation four months back, the senior member of the Bhajan Lal Sharma cabinet is neither attending key cabinet or departmental meetings nor using the government vehicles provided to him, he being a cabinet minister.
Contrary to his claim of moral grounds behind his decision to quit, rumours are rife that he wanted the party to nominate his close kin on the Dausa parliamentary seat, but the request was not accepted. Subsequently, the party lost election on the Dausa seat.
Now, the byelection is due to fill the Dausa (ST) assembly seat vacated by the winning Congress candidate Murari Lal Meena and Dr Kirodi Lal Meena is still aspiring to get a BJP ticket for his relative in the bypolls.
Meanwhile, Dr Meena had held parleys with BJP high command in New Delhi and also at the party state headquarters here in Jaipur, but the meetings could only produce speculative reports over his status and fate.
Speculations were rife again on Sunday, when the Meena strongman reached the state secretariat to attend a cabinet meeting after a long period of absence.
Later, addressing reporters to brief on the cabinet discussion – decisions, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said “Dr Kirodi Lal Meena is a senior member of the cabinet..; ..he was advised by the party state president Madan Rathore to participate in the meeting.”
The next day, on Monday, Meena turned up at a press briefing to state “I have said many times, I have resigned and my resignation is pending before the Chief Minister….I have requested the Chief Minister Sahib several times to accept the resignation. I once again want to request the Chief Minister through you(scribes) to accept it…..,.. I was directed by the party state president Mr Rathore to attend the press conference (and cabinet too),” Meena said.
The septuagenarian politician- a mass based leader in the Meena dominated region of the eastern Rajasthan (& Mewar too), is among those firebrand BJP leaders with rebellious and bold approach on key political issues.
Annoyed over political stances and working style of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Meena and some other leaders like multi-term MLA and sitting Rajya Sabha Member Ghanshyam Tiwari quit the BJP to form their own (separate) parties a few years ago and then joined the Ashok Gehlot led Congress dispensation too.
Both Meena and Tiwari were persuaded by Modi – Shah led BJP to return to the saffron-fold. Both of them were later nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
They have been seen as key factors to balance the power equation in the party to counter the Vasundhara Raje effect.
The resignation pending before the CM means that it is not rejected while an advisory from the party chief for attending meetings means ‘maintain restraint and status quo’ — is this not enough to keep all, including Meena, guessing !