Former Rajasthan CM vasundhara Raje.
Credit: PTI Photo
Jaipur: With ‘change’ being the buzzword in BJP’s choice of chief ministers in both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it seems plausible that Rajasthan would also see a new person in the top post.
Rajasthan’s chief minister is likely to be announced today as the central BJP observers would be meeting the elected legislators around 4 pm on Tuesday to decide on the same.
Although the election of Vishnu Deo Sai, 59, a tribal leader and an organisational man in Chhattisgarh, and of Mohan Yadav, 57, an OBC leader with RSS background in Madhya Pradesh, cannot effectively be called generational changes, but they are indeed new faces who have been low-profile leaders. In both the cases, former CMs of the party have formally proposed the names of the new ones, Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh and Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Madhya Pradesh.
Also Raman Singh, 71, and Narendra Singh Tomar, 66, are likely to become Speakers in their respective Assemblies, implying that the older leaders, despite being offered respectable positions, are being phased out slowly, say poll pundits. The move indicates that BJP leaders who are low-profile but have worked diligently in the organisation stand a reasonably fair chance to rise to top posts.
Political observers here say that when BJP has not given chance to Chauhan, despite his scheme Laadli Behna being responsible for the party’s stupendous victory in Madhya Pradesh, it is unlikely that former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje may be given a chance again.
It is being expected that the same formula may be adopted in Rajasthan, where the tried and tested faces may not be accommodated and instead the party may bet on a new face who has kept out of public glare but has been working steadily behind the scenes for the party.
But Rajasthan is a tricky state. Raje has tried to showcase her strength as MLAs continue to make a beeline for her residence in Jaipur after the results. Over 43 MLAs have met her since the last two days, which all of them say are “courtesy visit(s)" to the tallest leader in the state. Today, Raje’s confidantes and MLAs Pratap Singh Singhvi, Kali Charan Saraf, and Jaswant Yadav, and others like Prahlad Gunjal who lost elections and even those like Rajpal Singh Shekhawat who did not get the party's ticket, went to meet her.
Interestingly, unlike Chauhan, who claimed he was never in the chief ministerial race, Raje has never made any such claims.
Instead, Raje, along with her son Dushyant Singh, went to meet both BJP president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Although it is not known what exactly transpired at these meets, there are speculations that Raje may have tried to stake her claim for the top post. Or with Dushyant Singh, MP from Baran-Jhalawar in tow, she may have sought a position for him in the state Cabinet.
Political observers say that in one of her campaign trails in Jhalawar, Raje had said that, “After listening to my son, I feel I should retire as you (public and party workers) have trained him so well that I don’t need to keep pushing him,” which was a sign that she perhaps wants to take a backseat and make it comfortable for her son, who is already 50-years-old now. However, she later said she is not retiring anytime soon.
Given her royal background, Raje, who has had an uneasy relationship with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, and also with RSS, is somebody who is unlikely to work as per instructions from Delhi, say poll analysts. And she can, of course, employ pressure tactics with a fair number of MLAs behind her.
So to buy peace, even if Raje is offered the post till the Lok Sabha elections, there may be unnecessary trouble when she would have to step down. The show of strength and also allegations that surfaced about confinement of some MLAs on the instigation of Dushyant Singh, have not gone down well with the top brass in Delhi. But with the support of around 45 MLAs, pollsters say it would be hard for Raje to break away from the party. Her only option is to employ pressure tactics.
In a swipe directed at Raje, Rajendra Rathore, who was the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, reiterated that “BJP won the elections riding on the face of Narendra Modi and his face is the biggest face of our party. Despite this, if somebody thinks that BJP has won because of their face, then that person can stay in a world of illusion-over-confident of his capabilities, which is not the actual truth.” He also said that calling and asking somebody for support is not the tradition of BJP.
Poll observers say he may be taking a dig at Raje, as it is being speculated that she has called many of her MLAs and loyalists who have said publicly that they won because she campaigned for them.
Sunil Bhargava, head of BJP’s State policy and research wing, told Deccan Herald: “The Chief Minister would be somebody who would have working relations with all MLAs, would be able to curb dissent and factionalism in the state unit of the party, have administrative capability and be an experienced organisational person.”
Ater a tribal CM in Chhattisgarh and an OBC in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan may see a CM from the general category or upper caste, or a woman. But other than Raje, Jaipur’s erstwhile Princess Diya Kumari may be a contender if a woman CM is under consideration, but with no administrative skills of running a government or a ministry, it is highly unlikely.
“Next generation leaders like Diya Kumari, Rajyavardhan Rathore and Balaknath may just be groomed in this round,” says Bhargava.