Editorial. BJP could have ignored Vasundhara Raje only at its own peril

A turnaround is visible in BJP’s strategy in the Rajasthan Assembly elections. It is well known that former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, the tallest leader in the State, has never been on the best of terms with the party central command led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Yet, a course correction in the State in her favour is evident, after indications that she was snubbed in the first round of ticket distribution.

Raje is among the last of the regional satraps left in the BJP with the stature and gumption to resist the central command. Unlike Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where former and present chief ministers Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan have ceded ground to New Delhi, Raje is holding out. Rajasthan is the BJP’s surest bet for the BJP in this round of five Assembly polls. But the party had earlier conveyed that Raje was neither leading the campaign, nor was she a CM contender. This tack continued till as late as a fortnight back when the BJP released its first list of candidates which showcased as many as seven MPs in a bid to undermine Raje. Simultaneously, her loyalists Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Narpat Singh Rajvi et al, were denied party tickets. Rajvi was dropped from Vidyadhar Nagar, a constituency he has been representing, to accommodate Diya Kumari, Rajsamand MP and daughter of Jaipur’s late maharaja Bhawani Singh. But this started a round of rebellion and protest in the party ranks that forced a shift in strategy.

The reasons for change in approach are clear. The party was haunted by the spectre of Karnataka where it was damaged by the sidelining of the party’s tallest leader, former CM BS Yeddyurappa. The BJP in Rajasthan has since sought to steady the boat and the party’s second list reflects an overt bid to placate Raje. Not only has Raje been allocated her traditional seat of Jhalrapatan but as many as 27 of her loyalists have been accommodated by allotting them party tickets. Rajvi has been rehabilitated by fielding him from Chittorgarh and leaders like Siddhi Kumari, who were brought into the BJP fold by Raje, have been allotted party tickets. Ministers close to her during her second tenure as CM have all been given tickets.

Raje and a section of the party have been at loggerheads. She was believed to have scuttled the so-called ‘Operation Kamal’ in the wake of the 2020 rebellion led by Sachin Pilot in the Congress. Much like Madhya Pradesh where Jyotiraditya Scindia and his supporters managed to topple the Kamal Nath government in 2020, Pilot’s rebellion was expected to bring down Ashok Gehlot’s government in Rajasthan. However, this operation failed and Gehlot actually thanked Raje. Given Raje’s clout, if the BJP does manage to win in Rajasthan it would be difficult to deny her claim to the top post. The provincial royal challenger has won this round against the BJP’s central command — which seems keen to overhaul State leaderships everywhere.

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