Decoding the BJP’s challenge in Rajasthan

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Jaipur (Urban) seat candidate Ramcharan Bohra during the public election meeting ahead of the file nomination for the general elections on April 15. (Image: ANI)

Last week, the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked its Rajasthan leaders to close ranks and work together ahead of assembly elections in the state due next year.

The message went out after a crucial meeting of the BJP on April 19 at party president JP Nadda’s residence in Delhi.

The meeting was attended by former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia and Union ministers Gajendra Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal. BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh and general secretary in charge of Rajasthan, Arun Singh, were also present.

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The message that came out of the meeting was that the state chapter should stay united and work together. Rajasthan leaders of the party were told to refrain from making public statements against each other, media reports said, citing BJP functionaries they didn’t name.

Indications are that the BJP may not announce a chief ministerial candidate before elections although the Rajasthan unit may be reorganised.

The infighting

For some time now, the BJP in Rajasthan has been divided into two rival factions – one led by Raje and the other by Poonia.

The Raje faction alleges that the former chief minister and those considered to be her close associates have been sidelined by the Poonia-led state unit. The BJP’s Rajasthan leadership, in turn, accuses Raje of running a parallel power centre.

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The BJP was ousted by the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections, in which it won 73 seats in the 200-member assembly. The Congress won 100 seats. The BJP won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in the 2019 general elections while losing five out of seven bypolls held since 2018 in the state.

Sudden emergence

Raje, a two-time chief minister of Rajasthan, is considered the BJP’s tallest leader in Rajasthan. Poonia’s appointment as state unit chief in September 2019 led to friction between Raje and the leadership.

She had been conspicuous by her absence in state politics since the BJP’s defeat in 2018. She has recently emerged from her self-imposed isolation and addressed a rally in Bundi district that her supporters projected as a show of strength.

The rally in March coinciding with Raje's birthday upset not just the state unit’s leaders but also the central leadership, according to people aware of the development.

Recently, the former chief minister held a series of meetings with the party’s central leadership, including one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was also present at the swearing-in ceremonies of BJP chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, triggering speculation about her likely return as the BJP’s leader in poll-bound Rajasthan.

The BJP’s state leadership raised with the central leadership its reservations over her perceived projection as the chief ministerial candidate, an issue that figured at last week’s meeting.

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The meeting is said to have made it clear that the BJP’s wouldn’t designate anyone as its chief ministerial face ahead of the elections.

“Nadda said the priority is to contest the elections as a cohesive unit and the decision on selecting the chief minister will be taken once the party wins the polls,” a report in Hindustan Times quoted a BJP functionary as saying.

Strategic move

For now, the BJP’s central leadership seems to have closed the cracks in the state unit by playing the role of a strategic mediator although how things shape up ahead of the polls remains to be seen.

There may be changes in state leadership, perhaps to placate the Raje faction. Demands have been voiced for the replacement of Poonia, whose leadership has raised many questions, especially after BJP’s lost both seats in the 2021 bypolls.

“By deciding not to have a CM face ahead of elections, the BJP has pleased Poonia and by hinting at changes in the state unit, it has placated Raje,” said a BJP leader who didn’t want to be named.

Nadda is expected to be in Rajasthan in May.