JAIPUR: In a surprising move, the BJP high command has dealt a significant blow to former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia. She has been kept out of two crucial committees for the Rajasthan elections. On Thursday, Rajasthan BJP State President CP Joshi announced the manifesto committee and the election management committee for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly polls but conspicuously absent from the list were the names of former CM Vasundhara Raje and any of her prominent supporters. This omission has ignited renewed speculations that the BJP high command has firmly decided to enter the upcoming assembly elections without Raje's involvement.
For Vasundhara Raje and her loyalists who had held several shows of strength for the last two years and have been demanding that Raje be declared as CM face for the upcoming elections, this is a major setback. While union minister Arjun Meghwal. has been appointed as the Chairman of the Manifesto Committee, Narayan Pancharia will head the Election Management Committee. Elections in Rajasthan are now four months away and all eyes are now focused on whether BJP will rehabilitate Raje in some other position but for the moment it's a big jolt for Raje and her loyalists.
In the manifesto committee, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has been appointed as the Convenor of the Sankalp Patra Committee. Joining him are MPs Ghanshyam Tiwari, Kirorilal Meena, National Ministers Alka Gurjar, Prabhulal Saini, and Rakhi Rathod, who have been designated as co-convenors. Meanwhile, Narayan Panchariya has been assigned the role of chairman of the Election Management Committee. Co-convenors for this committee include Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, CM Meena, Kanhaiyalal Bairwa, Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Anand Sharma.
In response to inquiries about Vasundhara Raje's role in the election, the state president affirmed that there are numerous senior leaders within the party who will actively campaign.
State party in-charge Arun Singh avoided the question asked about Raje's role, saying that ' she is a senior party leader and all senior leaders will campaign for the party'. Party's state president CP Joshi and state in-charge Arun Singh announced that these committees have been announced as per the instructions of national president J P Nadda and hoped that the state will get the benefit of the experience of both the committees in the upcoming elections.
It's noteworthy that the BJP high command recently entrusted Vasundhara Raje with the responsibility of National Vice President. Coming in an election year, it was seen as a signal that the high command intended to keep Raje away from Rajasthan. In a subsequent development, Raje undertook a two-day visit to Delhi, where she engaged in discussions with several key leaders.
The strained relationship between Raje and the party's high command dates back to 2014. During the tenure of Home Minister Amit Shah as the national president of the BJP and Raje as the chief minister, the two leaders often found themselves at odds. Following the BJP's defeat in Rajasthan in 2018, Raje has been noticeably absent from crucial party events. The high command's intentions became clear when Rajendra Rathore was appointed the Leader of the Opposition when Gulab Chand Kataria assumed the governorship of Assam, despite Raje.
Remarkably, this marks the first time in decades that the BJP has refrained from announcing its chief ministerial candidate in Rajasthan. Vasundhara Raje has long been synonymous with the BJP in the state, and more than half of the MLAs and MPs are believed to be in her direct support. Many have publicly expressed their allegiance to Raje. This situation has raised concerns that should the party's high command proceed with the election without Raje, it might face backlash from both Raje and her supporters. This leads to a significant question: Can Prime Minister Modi alone elevate the BJP's power in Rajasthan, especially in the face of Chief Minister Gehlot's efforts to solidify his position through populist initiatives aimed at altering the historical patterns of power transition?
Meanwhile, some Raje loyalists also point out that while it is surprising that she is being dropped from both these committees but other senior leaders like Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, both the former BJP chief and the current party President C P Joshi have all been kept out of these committees. On the condition of anonymity, one of Raje's supporters said, "Nobody can ignore Vasundhara Raje she is after all the most popular mass leader of the BJP in Rajasthan so wait and watch."
Nonetheless, the campaign committee announcement is still pending, marking the third major committee after the resolution declaration and the election management committee. Notably, before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi served as the coordinator of the campaign committee. Traditionally, the coordinator or chairman of the campaign committee becomes the official face of the party for the election. Experts caution that any conjecture is premature without the announcement of this committee.