ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Yatra Fever: BJP’s bet on a post-Raje future, Gehlot’s on East Rajasthan water woes
In a curious convergence of yatra politics, the BJP’s Parivartan Sankalp Yatras are getting over on the same day as Congress begins a Jan Ashirwad Yatra. This makes September 25 a big day in the state with battle lines drawn between PM Modi on one side and CM Gehlot on the other. But ex-CM Vasundhara Raje’s absence from the yatra trail doesn’t bode well for BJP
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan: BJP’s ‘Faceless Yatras’ leave its best known face mulling an uncertain future
Vasundhara Raje was front and centre of Rajasthan BJP yatras since 2003. This time BJP has four statewide parivartan yatras and a “faceless” strategy, which effectively downsizes Raje and keeps the crowd of other CM aspirants on tenterhooks. This implies an over-dependence on “Modi Magic” but after Karnataka, there are doubts hovering
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan: Gandhian simplicity failing twice, Ashok Gehlot embraces mega PR overdrive for elusive win
Despite encomiums for his welfare schemes, the 2003 and 2013 losses have convinced Ashok Gehlot to pitch himself and his work to voters on an as large, lavish and eye-catching scale as possible and engage professional political strategists. Consequently, Rajasthan voters are seeing a “modern”, social media-friendly Gehlot avatar on poll eve
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan: BJP zeroes in on law and order as Gehlot’s Achilles’ Heel
BJP has discovered that law and order is the weak spot in Ashok Gehlot’s defence of his government in the upcoming elections. Gehlot is trying to blunt this line of attack from the BJP by dubbing it an attack on Rajasthan’s pride
BUSINESS
Rajasthan: Time is running out for the Congress high command to resolve the Gehlot-Pilot rift
Sachin Pilot has planned a rally on June 11, his father’s death anniversary, in Dausa where the disillusioned Congress leader may announce a break with the party if the high command doesn’t offer him an acceptable deal. A week has passed since the central leadership’s photo-op in Delhi projecting “unity” but why has a solution to the imbroglio not been made public yet?
BUSINESS
Rajasthan Dilemma: Will Vasundhara Raje be BJP’s CM face after Karnataka debacle?
The BJP central leadership has promoted many junior leaders but none have succeeded in matching former CM Vasundhara Raje’s connect with the masses. With Karnataka revealing the limits of the Modi factor and the importance of regional satraps, Raje, out of favour since 2018, may regain pole position
BUSINESS
Mission Rajasthan: PM Modi plots BJP’s comeback via tribal votes on Karnataka polling day
The Rajasthan election is already on PM Modi’s sights as he targets the southern region of Mewar which is also the tribal belt. The BJP has assiduously wooed tribal voters since Droupadi Murmu’s presidential election last July but the absence of a tall local tribal leader is a serious handicap for the saffron party
POLITICS
The bitter battle between Ashok Gehlot and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Rajasthan is going down to the wire
The spectacle of a Chief Minister and Union minister baiting each other and taking their battle to investigating agencies and courts has its roots in their attempts to dominate the Marwar region from where both hail. But Shekhawat’s alleged role in the Pilot rebellion may just have been the last straw for Gehlot
