As BJP readies Raj first list, question mark on Vasundhara's future

Santosh Pathak
New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) The BJP is likely to release its first list of candidates next week in Rajasthan. But, suspense over the role of Vasundhara Raje continues.

Much like it did in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, BJP will announce candidates for both weak and strong seats.

Party sources confirmed that BJP is likely to release its first list of candidates next week.

According to the sources, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Jaipur on September 25, a meeting of BJP's Central Election Committee will be convened regarding the Rajasthan Assembly polls in Delhi next week. After the meeting, the saffron party will release its first list of nearly 50 candidates.

As per party sources, like in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has divided seats in Rajasthan into categories for better poll planning. 

The party will announce the names of candidates for 29 'strong' seats divided into 'A' category and 19 seats considered to be weak in 'D' category.

However, despite former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's constant demand to specify her role in the party, the BJP high command has not given her any significant role in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan.

During the last few months, Vasundhara Raje has continuously tried to mend her relations with party's top leaders. Despite not being accorded a place in two important election-related committees in the state -- State Sankalp Patra Committee and Election Management Committee -- she did not express her discontent with the party publicly.

Even during the last few Assembly elections, be it the BJP's 'Suraj Sankalp Yatra', 'Parivartan Yatra' or any other election yatra, Raje, who was leading all those yatras, this time most likely may not be the party's chief ministerial face in Rajasthan. 

However, the former Chief Minister has remained present in all the four ongoing Parivartan yatras of the BJP.

When the BJP held four different Parivartan yatras from different areas of the state, Vasundhara Raje was seen on the stage with other central party leaders but later maintained distance from these yatras.

However, her personal family issues are also being said to be a major reason for her not being given a significant role in the party. Vasundhara Raje's daughter-in-law is suffering from a fatal disease and is undergoing treatment in Delhi and therefore she is currently staying there.

But despite this, it is clearly visible from the stance of the BJP high command and the statements of the party leaders in Delhi and Rajasthan that Vasundhara Raje, who had once become synonymous with BJP in Rajasthan politics, this time will not even be able to fulfill her role in the party. But she has been trying to reinforce her position and has tried to show her strength through her birthday rally, religious yatra and other programmes.

This fact is well known that despite being out of power and facing indifference from top party leaders for a long time, Vasundhara Raje can prove to be a winner in the Assembly polls. 

Raje, who has a strong following among Jat, Rajput and Gurjar voters, is quite popular among the women of the state.

BJP is also well aware of Raje's popularity and political power, hence continuous efforts are being made to manage her.

In Rajasthan, she is being given a place on the stage in the programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J.P. Nadda. Even when Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with party MPs of Rajasthan in Delhi, Raje was included in that meeting despite not being an MP.

By not clarifying the role of Vasundhara Raje Scindia despite her repeated demands, the saffron party has given a clear political message that seniority and popularity are respected but the party has made up its mind to bring about leadership change on similar lines in Karnataka. 

The BJP will give tickets to new candidates on most of the seats, it has also decided to field many MPs in the Assembly elections and for this the party is ready to take any risk.