NEW DELHI: Sensing a hard electoral battle ahead in states this year end, which will set the tone for the 2019 general elections, BJP chief Amit Shah is bracing up to rejig key strategists in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
While murmurs have gradually begun doing rounds in the BJP against Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, Shah is gearing up to cut her role in poll preparations without replacing her. The BJP chief could replace Rajasthan party in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna with a key person from within his core team, sources said.
The BJP chief is also likely to replace party incharge for Madhya Pradesh, Vinay Sahashrabuddhe.
“Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh are top concerns for the party as they will go to polls ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. BJP’s Rajasthan rout and its scale as the party couldn’t register leads in any of the Assembly seats in Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha constituencies have indeed been taken note. The challenges ahead are daunting since BJP will have to defend anti-incumbency in MP and Chattisgarh with party being in power for 15 years,” said a top ranking BJP leader.
BJP leaders are keeping a close watch on Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh’s Narmada Yatra. “Digvijay has covered 120 Assembly seats as part of the Narmada Yatra. He has attracted a lot of ground workers of the Congress. The BJP will have to work overtime to neutralise his attempts to cash in on his experiences from the yatra,” said a senior BJP functionary. The BJP is also wary of the sizeable Patidar population in Madhya Pradesh, which made the party sweat in the recent Gujarat elections.
In Rajasthan, BJP’s rout in Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats has emboldened Raje’s detractors within the party. “She is in a spot. BJP chief has so far not been interfering in the state affairs. But now Shah may not leave the state affairs of the party solely in the hands of the chief minister. Though she may not be replaced as chief minister in the run up to Assembly elections, the leadership issue post poll could be left open ended and the party might seek mandate under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” sources stated.
BJP seems confident of withstanding the Congress challenge in Chattisgarh by seeking to gain from a triangular contest with the Ajit Jogi-led Janata Congress Chattisgarh (JCC). “Ajit Jogi may cut into the Congress vote, which will help the BJP,” said the BJP functionary.
BJP is faced with rising farmer agitation on the back of agrarian distress in MP and Rajsthan. Besides, Raje is also facing Gujjar agitation for reservation on the lines of Patidars in Gujarat and Jats in Haryana. The BJP had won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan, while the party had bagged 27 out of 29 Parliamentary constituencies in 2014 general elections.