Kirodi Lal’s resignation is yet to be accepted, with BJP president J P Nadda summoning him to Delhi. But, this has further strengthened the impression that there is more than meets the eye to his move.

Some believe Kirodi Lal is still sulking over the BJP denying his brother Jagmohan Meena the Dausa Lok Sabha seat ticket, picking instead Kanhaiya Lal Meena, who lost. The Congress too had waded in at the time, with former health minister Parsadi Lal saying that even his own party would have been happy fielding Jagmohan.

After the polls, the BJP did not just pick a Chief Minister but also two Deputy CMs junior to Kirodi Lal in both age and the party. Apart from being a six-time MLA, Kirodi Lal is a two-term Lok Sabha MP and one-time Rajya MP.

Then, in the Cabinet, Kirodi Lal got the Agriculture department, but the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department – traditionally given to the same minister – was divided between him and Madan Dilawar.

However, BJP insiders say, Kirodi Lal may not find the party very accommodating. While he is one of the axes of tribal politics in Rajasthan, the other being Bharat Adivasi Party MP Rajkumar Roat, Kirodi Lal was never a choice for the top post. In fact, it is his assertion as a leader in his own right that goes against him, at a time that the BJP has shown preference for low-key leaders who are not major power centres, especially in Rajasthan.

There are many examples – Vasundhara Raje, whose marginalisation in the state unit is now complete, capped with the appointment of a virtual unknown Bhajan Lal Sharma as CM; Gulab Chand Kataria, the party’s tallest region in the Mewar region who was moved out as Assam Governor; and Rajendra Rathore, former Leader of the Opposition, as well as ex-state president Satish Poonia, who find themselves out of the reckoning in the state after losing in the Assembly elections. Two days ago, Poonia was made the party’s Haryana in-charge.

Raje, who has maintained a deafening silence, gave a rare hint of her hurt recently, saying: “Today, people want to cut off the finger which they once held to learn to walk.”

The BJP still has ‘tall’ leaders in the state, but they are seen more as Delhi’s people – Om Birla, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat or Bhupender Yadav.

However, clearly not all is going as per the BJP central leadership’s plans in Rajasthan. While the party quashed any Congress hopes in the Assembly polls, in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress led alliance picked up 11 seats – after drawing a blank in both 2014 and 2019.