Rajasthan: BJP’s ‘Faceless Yatras’ leave its best known face mulling an uncertain future

The BJP will cover all 200 constituencies of Rajasthan but no one personality will lead the endeavour which marks the official launch of the BJP poll campaign in the desert state.

Yatras have been integral to BJP politics ever since the Ram Rath Yatra catapulted LK Advani and his party into the national spotlight in 1990. But the four Parivartan Yatras planned for Rajasthan in September mark a new beginning as they confirm that two-term former chief minister Vasundhara Raje will not be leading the yatras.

Instead of helming the party effort, Raje will be just one of several BJP leaders to participate in what are being dubbed as “Faceless Yatras”.

Under the “Four Yatras,No Leader” formula, the BJP will cover all 200 constituencies of Rajasthan but no one personality will lead the endeavour which marks the official launch of the BJP poll campaign in the desert state. As a medley of state and national leaders take the reins, the yatras signify a major shift in BJP’s campaign dynamics.

Vasundhara Raje’s Yatras

Initially, the buzz was that Raje would lead the first yatra while state BJP president CP Joshi, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and former state president Satish Poonia would head the other three teams. But fissures within the state BJP created a deadlock, forcing national BJP president to flag off the first Parivartan Yatra on September 2, while Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari will flag off the other three yatras.

In essence, this implies no stellar role for Raje or any other leader in the multiple Yatra plan. This is a huge departure from the past as Raje dominated all such shows since 2003 when her Parivartan Yatra led to BJP’s first-ever full majority government in Rajasthan – a feat that eluded even the saffron party’s stalwart CM Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Later, her “Suraj Sankalp Yatra” in 2013 won BJP a historic mandate but her “Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra” in 2018 could not prevent Congress from regaining power. Such was her clout that in 2012, Raje even nixed RSS-favourite Gulab Chand Kataria’s bid to hold a yatra in his stronghold of Mewar.

‘Collective Leadership’ Crowds Raje In

Given her past dominance, the “Four Yatras, No Leader” plan seems a ploy to downsize Raje – and comes soon after her exclusion from two major election panels. Since no leader except Raje has ever led a BJP Yatra in Rajasthan, the “collective leadership” plan for the Yatras now seems a decisive signal that Raje won’t be the party’s prime face or CM candidate.

While her loyalists still hope she will head the BJP’s campaign committee, political observers believe it’s now unlikely that Raje will get a starring role. How this strategy will impact voters, especially women, is now an intriguing aspect of Rajasthan elections

The “Faceless Yatras” also seek to hide the factional war which has plagued the state BJP over the past five years. Besides Raje, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Meghwal and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and former state BJP chief Satish Poonia have CM aspirations. The decision not to project anyone as the face of the Yatras aims to prevent the internal rift from spilling out in the open.

Signs Of Discord

Whether the Yatra plan will contain BJP discord is unclear but already there are signs that Raje is miffed and her supporters are mighty upset at her sidelining. Former Speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly and one of the seniormost BJP MLAs Kailash Meghwal has accused Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal of being “Corrupt No 1” and says he will write to PM Modi to drop the Union law minister from the cabinet.

This attack from a staunch Raje loyalist, soon after the Yatra plan was finalised, is being linked to the deepening rift in the state BJP. Beyond the BJP’s internal dynamics, the “Faceless Yatras” decision has given ammunition to the Congress to embarrass the BJP.

Targeting BJP factionalism, CM Ashok Gehlot has been taunting the party to project Raje as its CM candidate instead of relying only on PM Narendra Modi for the Rajasthan polls. Now, state Congress chief Govind Dotasra has asserted that the “Faceless Yatras” reflect that feuds in the BJP are so deep that leaders are being sent in different directions as they can’t be made to sit together!

Relying On Modi Magic

Effectively, the “Four Yatras, No Leader” formula implies that BJP will chiefly rely on Modi’s face for the Rajasthan elections. Despite his vote-catching ability, will the PM’s face alone be enough? As the Karnataka verdict recently revealed, it’s not always a winning strategy.

Though the saffron party may be on better footing in the Hindi belt, the BJP seems to be ignoring a  crucial lesson of its Karnataka crash – that regional satraps must be accorded respect and roles  suitable to their stature. Otherwise, even polarisation politics and the Modi rhetoric may not ensure victories in state elections.

As the saffron brigade kickstarts its Rajasthan campaign, tantalising queries linger: Will the four “Faceless Yatras” fire popular imagination? Can leaderless yatras trigger a movement for “parivartan”? These key questions confront the BJP as it strives to regain power in Rajasthan.

While Raje’s glory days may be fading, whether BJP’s Acche Din will return in Rajasthan via these “Faceless Yatras” is hardly a done deal.

Rajan Mahan is a senior journalist who headed NDTV and Star News in Rajasthan. He was also a Professor of Journalism at the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.