BJP's Newly Formed Rajasthan Team High On Hindutva With Baba Balaknath Yogi As State Vice-President

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rajasthan state unit released a list of its new office-bearers on Saturday (1 July) night ahead of the assembly elections due this year.

The list includes names of 11 state vice presidents, five general secretaries, 11 secretaries, one treasurer, and a co-treasurer.

The highlight of the list is the name of Baba Balaknath Yogi who is a one-time MP from Alwar. He has been appointed as a vice-president of the party at the state level.

Balaknath is often called "Yogi of Rajasthan", a reference to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, because of his Hindutvawadi stance.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Balaknath emerged victorious by defeating Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, a prominent leader of the Congress in Alwar.

Since then, the BJP leader has consistently criticized the Congress, citing issues such as the demolition of a temple in Alwar by local authorities, and even drawing comparisons between the grand old party and the Mughals.

Balaknath always dons saffron clothes and is mahant of Nath community's important place Mastnath math. This math is situated in Rohtak and is considered second to Gorakhnath math of Gorakhpur in Nath traditions.

Balaknath is also very close to Adityanath. Chandnath Yogi appointed him as his successor in 2016. He hails from the OBC Yadav community and can also help the BJP in Haryana.

Being just 38 years old, Balaknath is a rising star in the Rajasthan BJP. His electoral debut was marked by a victory margin of more than 3 lakh votes. Since then, he has been quite active in public life.

Another leader that needs mention in Rajasthan BJP's 'Hindutvawadi team' is former Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Panchariya. While he is not as vocal as Balaknath, he tried proposing a private member bill for a uniform civil code (UCC) in 2019.

UCC is one of the things in the Hindutva agenda and with PM Narendra Modi also mentioning it, UCC is currently the talk of the town.

The BJP's team also has a good balance of castes and communities. One of the newly appointed vice-presidents is Sukhbir Jaunapuriya, the MP from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur and a member of the Gujjar community.

The Jat community is being represented by former MPs CR Choudhary and Santosh Ahlawat, and former minister Prabhulal Saini represents Saini community. It also features individuals from Bishnoi and Kumawat castes.

Additionally, representation from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities can also be found in the list. This can be seen as an attempt to woo these communities ahead of the elections.