Assembly polls: BJP emulates Congress's 'wait-and-watch' model for CM face

Non-projection of CM face in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan would mark a clear departure from BJP’s electoral playbook of two decades for Assembly polls in these states with the party showing signs of veering towards the Congress model to engage all CM aspirants for maximising electoral gains in provincial polls.  

As things stand today, in Rajasthan, this would be the first election since 2003 that Vasundhara Raje Scindia would not be at the helm of the party’s bid to regain or retain power in the state. The 70-year-old and two-time former CM was also not included in the two key elections management committees.

While Vasundhara has maintained a low profile all this while, central ministers like Gajendra Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal have been active in the run-up to the polls. A tactical shift in the current position closer to the elections would be more out of compulsion.

When in Opposition, it is Congress that seldom nominates a CM face and prefers to seek a mandate for the ‘collective leadership.’ In 2018, Sachin Pilot was the PCC president, and Ashok Gehlot the then general secretary in charge of organisation was given a ticket to contest from Sardarpura in Jodhpur, but the CM was chosen only after the party won the elections.

In Karnataka too, the party did not project a CM face so as to engage all key contenders including former CM Siddaramaiah and DK Shivkumar.  

“In Rajasthan, it’s clear that the party is looking to bring in a new set of leadership while keeping the existing ones engaged. That seems to be the larger message as PM has said sought votes in the name of the party symbol,” a party leader said.

The inflection in party strategy is more pronounced in MP where the BJP is in power. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been at the helm of affairs for 18 years except for a brief hiatus of 15 months.

By nominating three central ministers and many sitting Lok Sabha MPs, BJP had dropped enough hints that others too could lay claim to the top post if the party were to return to power.

Chouhan’s recent statement has further muddied the water in the state where BJP has sought to whittle away anti-incumbency by projecting alternative leadership. Earlier this week, Chouhan told voters that they will miss him once he is gone.

Whereas in Chhattisgarh, the BJP’s decision to go for a collective leadership is born out of compulsion. Having failed to build strong second-rung leaders— especially from the OBC groups — during 15 years of Raman Singh's rule, the party has had to grapple with a leadership vacuum.