JAIPUR: Rajya Sabha MP and former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia has been elevated as the party’s national general secretary, while former chief minister Vasundhara Raje has been retained as national vice-president in the new team announced by BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
Poonia’s appointment marks a significant political turnaround after the setbacks he faced ahead of and during the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections. He served as the state BJP president from 2019 to 2023 but was replaced months before the assembly polls and subsequently lost the Amer Assembly constituency.
His political fortunes, however, improved after he was entrusted with organisational responsibilities in Haryana, where the BJP returned to power in the 2024 Assembly elections. Earlier this year, the party nominated him to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, where he was elected unopposed.
His elevation as national general secretary is also politically significant given his Jat background. The community has considerable influence in Rajasthan, and can impact the outcome in around 40-50 Assembly constituencies.
The BJP faced major setbacks in several Jat-dominated areas in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which came amid Churu MP Rahul Kaswan’s exit from the party after he was denied a ticket. Kaswan subsequently joined the Congress and retained the Churu seat on a Congress ticket. Poonia’s growing prominence could therefore help the BJP strengthen its outreach to the community in Rajasthan as well as in other poll-bound states, like Uttar Pradesh, with a sizable Jat population. The BJP is also trying to combat any possible damage due to the abrupt resignation of former Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar last year. Dhankar is a prominent Jat leader and hails from Rajasthan.
In Raje’s case, the BJP has chosen continuity. The two-time chief minister was appointed national vice-president in 2019, retained in the post in 2023 and has now once again been given the same responsibility.
Before the December 2023 assembly elections, there was strong speculation that Raje herself was a strong contender for the CM post.However, after winning the Rajasthan election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command made a major and surprising decision by selecting first-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma as Chief Minister, thereby sidelining Raje from the active state politics.
Experts say the party has maintained the status quo, indicating that it does not want to antagonise her. At the same time, the party does not appear keen on facilitating her return to a more active role in Rajasthan politics. By retaining her in the same position, the BJP appears to be trying to strike a balance.
The appointments give Rajasthan significant representation in the BJP’s central organisation. Jaipur-based senior leader Rajesh Mangal has also been included in the national team as the National treasurer, while Udaipur MP Mannalal Rawat has been appointed president of the party’s national tribal front.
Rawat’s appointment, meanwhile, assumes significance for the BJP’s tribal outreach. As an MP from Udaipur, his elevation gives a Rajasthan tribal leader a larger organisational role at a time when the party is seeking to consolidate its support in tribal-dominated regions within the state and elsewhere.