A LITMUS TEST FOR BHAJAN SHARMA

Just 11 months into power, and the Rajasthan chief minister faces yet another challenge at the hustings.

- Rohit Parihar

At stake are seven of the state's 200 assembly seatsJhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khinvsar, Chorasi, Ramgarh and Salumber-that go to bypolls on November 13. When the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha seat tally slid in Rajasthan from 24 to 14 amid a near-10 percentage point drop in vote share this June, Sharma escaped much of the criticism. For, he had been at the helm for just three months when the model code of conduct kicked in and was involved neither in candidate selection nor in chalking out strategy. This time, however, a lot of the onus shifts to him.

Even though the BJP announced six of its seven candidates when Sharma was on a tour of Germany and the UK to invite potential investors to the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit scheduled in December, he has been leading the campaign since his return on October 20.