Jaipur/IBNS: Keeping up with its trend of fielding fresh faces for top jobs in the heartland states it won, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saved the biggest surprise for the last-Rajasthan as it picked a first-time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma as the chief minister of the state.

Bhajanlal Sharma, named the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan, is a first-time MLA from Sanganer. The MLA, who hails from Bharatpur, was not given a ticket from that seat as it wasn't considered winnable for upper castes.

Sharma will have "People's Princess" Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa as his deputy chief ministers.

The name of Sharma surprised many political analysts as against the very popular Vasundhara Raje, who held the top post on behalf of the party for three terms.

The 56-year-old, initially associated with the ABVP, the student wing of the party's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has always kept a low profile.

A state general secretary of the party, he is seen as an organisation man, quite unlike Raje, who was often seen with the top leadership.

The selection of a Brahmin face for the chief minister post is seen as a safe choice in Rajasthan, where Rajputs and Jats are the dominant castes. However, picking a member from either community carries the risk of reverse polarisation next year-- a situation the BJP could not afford.

Vasundhara Raje was acceptable to both communities as she, an erstwhile royal, was a Rajput who married into a Jat family. 

The BJP has been considering the caste and class arithmetic in a big way in the heartland states in the run-up to next year's general election.

However, there was speculation that Raje, the party's tallest leader in the state, would be benched. The pattern is similar to Madhya Pradesh, where four-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh's former Chief Minister Raman Singh, were dropped.

Chhattisgarh's new Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai is a tribal leader and has been a state BJP chief, Union Minister of State, and BJP national working committee member.

The man replacing Shivraj Sing Chouhan, Mohan Yadav, is a three-time MLA, former minister of the state, and belongs to Other Backward Caste (OBC).

Like Shivraj Chauhan in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, Raje was the one to propose the name of the new Chief Minister at the legislature party meeting this afternoon. It was seconded by state leaders Kirori Meena, Madan Dilawar and Jawar Singh.