Episode 107 - Battle For Rajasthan, Lal Diary storm, Namami Gange mission, with Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is a minister in PM Modi's cabinet currently heading the department of Jal Shakti. He is a two-time parliamentarian representing Jodhpur constituency in the Lok Sabha. Shekhawat, like many other BJP leaders, started his political journey as a karyakarta of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad during his student days and was elected as student union president at JNVU University, but he formally joined BJP in 2014 and went on to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Jodhpur which he won by a record margin of over 4 lakh votes. 

In this edition of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, he talks about the upcoming Rajasthan polls and doesn't mince words, putting the blame on Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot for making the state a corruption hotspot. He also takes the Rajasthan government head in over the deterioration of law and order in the state and the government's failure in stopping crime against women. He argues that the people of Rajasthan have paid the price of 'infighting' between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. Many in political circles term him as the dark horse in Rajasthan politics as the BJP hasn't announced a CM candidate for the polls. Shekhawat also talks about the Red Diary incident which stirred up political drama in Rajasthan. Shekhawat also hails the Namami Gange mission as a success and underlines the mission's positive impact on cleaning Ganga. He also countered Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's claims blaming the Haryana government for opening the Hathnikund Barrage as the national capital battled floods.