Rajyavardhan Rathore was in attendance on Thursday as PM Modi and his new cabinet was sworn-in
The day after BJP leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore became one of the more high-profile exclusions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new cabinet of ministers, he posted a series of messages on Twitter praising the Prime Minister for his "vision, energy and commitment to our great nation". He also thanked senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Smriti Irani for the "privilege and honour" of serving with them.
The silver-medal winning Olympian had been handed charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in the previous government and also served briefly as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports.
"It was a great privilege and honour to serve as a member of PM @narendramodi Ji's council of ministers. Every single moment spent with him was a testimony to his vision, energy and commitment to our great nation. My gratitude to PM Modi ji. Jai Hind," the retired army colonel wrote.
Mr Rathore was in attendance yesterday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his new cabinet took their oaths and were sworn-in to form the new government. He sent the new cabinet his "congratulations" and wished them a "remarkable tenure".
"Last 5 years was a great learning curve wherein I had the privilege and honour of serving with the best, Shri @arunjaitley ji @MVenkaiahNaidu ji and @smritiirani ji, my gratitude to each one of them," he added.
Mr Rathore's exclusion from the cabinet may be less about him being dropped from the government and more about being handed a prominent role in the Rajasthan unit of the BJP.
In 2018, the BJP was considering changing party leadership in the state, particularly after a poor performance in Assembly elections; the Congress and its allies won 100 seats to the BJP's 73, which represented a loss of 89 seats from 2013 polls.
The party opted for Jodhpur legislator Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
However, this was not acceptable to a section of leaders, including then chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who felt an upper caste Rajput may alienate the other communities, especially the Jats.
A compromise was reached with the appointment of Madan Lal Saini but now, with Rajyavardhan Rathore freed of ministerial duties, a leadership change could be on the cards.
Rajyavardhan Rathore retained his parliamentary seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, beating Congress candidate Krishna Poonia by 3.89 lakh votes from the Jaipur (Rural) seat.