Congress leader and LoP in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and BJP MP Yogi Balaknath had a light moment on Monday when the former referred to Balaknath as "Rajasthan ke naye CM" (Rajasthan's new Chief Minister). Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury approached BJP MP Yogi Balaknath in Parliament and stated, "Rajasthan ke naye CM ban rahe hai naa..." (He would be the future Chief Minister of Rajasthan). Yogi Balaknath, on the other hand, modestly chuckled and said nothing. The video of the incident was shared by news agency ANI on its official X handle.
In the recently concluded Rajasthan assembly elections, Baba Balak Nath defeated Congress contender Imran Khan in the Tijara seat. He is also a major candidate for the state's chief ministership, with previous chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari, and Union Minister and Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
During the campaign, Baba Balak Nath allegedly compared the elections to an India-Pakistan match.
The Times of India quoted him saying, "This is like an India-Pakistan match this time. It is not just a fight for victory, it is also a fight for voting percentage. Those 'kabilas' (tribes) have united and we have to defeat their plans with a voting percentage so that in future they never dare to unite and conspire to defeat our Sanatan Dharma." However, he had not explained what he meant by 'kabilas'.
The Alwar MP and Tijara contender, who is regarded as one of the party's hardline leaders, is already renowned as the 'Yogi of Rajasthan' and left home at the age of six to pursue sainthood. He is a respected ascetic who dresses in saffron robes identical to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.