BJP face book grows in Raj, Cong presses like for Gehlot

Jaipur: Rajasthan is poised for an exciting poll battle with Congress and BJP adopting new strategies for the November 23 assembly elections. While BJP seems to be heading into the state polls without two-term CM Vasundhara Raje as its face, Congress has thrown its weight behind incumbent CM Ashok Gehlot. Raje has been BJP’s CM candidate in every election since 2003, but now, Union ministers like Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal, MPs like Diya Kumari and Kirori Lal Meena, and state leaders like CP Joshi and Rajendra Rathore are all at the forefront.In Congress, Gehlot and Sachin Pilot had an equal stature in the 2018 election. But for the past more than a month Gehlot alone has been on Congress banners and posters across Rajasthan. Pilot has confined himself to his assembly constituency Tonk, while hardly any hoarding or advertisement shows central leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, or even state leaders like PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra.For Congress in Rajasthan, the poll strategy seems centred around Gehlot and his government’s social welfare schemes. Every morning, Rajasthan has been waking up to front page ads with Gehlot’s full-length pictures as well as special pages dedicated to his government’s social welfare schemes in the Hindi papers. In their public rallies, Rahul and Kharge have sought votes for Congress while praising the Gehlot government’s schemes. As an election observer put it, the grand old party now wants to play completely on Gehlot – be it victory or defeat. “Congress in Rajasthan is fighting not just its political opponents but also the belief that the voters here dismiss the party in government. For three decades, BJP has been replacing Congress every five years,” said a party veteran.In BJP, new faces are being brought to state politics, while Raje loyalists are being sidestepped. Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari, who belongs to Jaipur’s erstwhile royal family and got greater importance at PM Narendra Modi’s latest public rallies, has been declared party candidate from Jaipur’s Vidyadhar Nagar seat, which is a BJP bastion. Late vice-president and former CM Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s son-in-law Narpat Singh Rajvi, who is a sitting MLA from Vidyadhar Nagar, has found no mention in BJP’s first list of candidates. Raje loyalist Rajpal Singh Shekhawat has been replaced by MP Rajyavardhan Rathore on Jaipur’s Jhotwara seat, another BJP stronghold.Similarly, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has been getting a greater say in state politics. Senior MLA Kailash Meghwal, an ex-speaker and Raje loyalist, was suspended when he spoke against the Union minister. Party sources say Arjun Ram and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat could also be fielded in the assembly polls. PM Narendra Modi has already urged people to vote for the party symbol, thereby negating individual ‘influences’.
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