Will keeping Raje at bay prove costly for BJP?

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan BJP is campaigning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its face, expecting to cut through CM Ashok Gehlot's web of social welfare packages. While two-term CM Vasundhara Raje was always seen as BJP's front runner earlier, the party argues that it never projected a CM face before the elections. However, leaders privately concede that the absence of a local figure in a close race against Gehlot can be costly.
This time, BJP has given regional satraps like Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal, leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, and former state president Satish Poonia an opportunity to test the waters.
BJP's poll campaign in the state is being run by central leaders like party president JP Nadda, party national secretary BL Santhosh, and Union minister Pralhad Joshi, while PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah oversee everything. Modi reminding voters that "Lotus is our candidate" on his visits to Rajasthan last month has put an end to the possibility of the party projecting a CM face.