In December 2023, BHAJAN LAL SHARMA, 57, a first-term legislator, was the surprise pick to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan. Sharma was in New Delhi to address preparatory meetings for the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit, to be held in Jaipur on December 9-11, and spoke with Archis Mohan about the performance of his nine-month-old government. He exuded confidence that the BJP will sweep the forthcoming seven Assembly bypolls in the state, overcoming the setback it suffered in the Lok Sabha elections, where it could win only 14 of the 25 seats. Edited