Rajasthan polls | BJP’s gamble to field MPs receives mixed response as 4 taste victory
Only four of the seven MPs, who were fielded in the assembly elections in the hope of creating a second rung of leadership in the state, have managed to win in their constituencies
The BJP’s gamble to create a second line of leadership in Rajasthan by asking some of its former Union ministers, and sitting MPs to contest the state elections has received a mixed response from the people.
Although the BJP is set to sweep Rajasthan by a decent margin of votes, of the seven MPs who were asked to contest the polls, only four have emerged as winners, while the remaining three are trailing in their constituencies.
“I thank Prime Minister Modi, our leader and inspiration, BJP workers, people of Jhotwara and Rajasthan who gave me this opportunity to serve Rajasthan after being elected as an MLA. The credit for this victory goes to Prime Minister Modi’s untiring work. The trust with which his schemes reach every household, it is with that blessing that the BJP is registering such a massive victory,” said Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who has won from the Jhotwara seat in Jaipur.
Why MPs were roped in
Senior leaders of the BJP said that the idea behind sending sitting MPs and former union ministers to Rajasthan was to add more experience in the state leadership, especially with people who have directly worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and also who have worked extensively with the party’s leadership in Parliament.
Members of the BJP believe that apart from creating leadership in the state, the said leaders were also asked to contest to check the popularity of some of the MPs in Rajasthan. The decision to make seven sitting MPs (from the 25 Lok Sabha seats won by the BJP in Rajasthan since 2014) contest assembly polls means the party has to find new candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in these seven seats.
“This victory is of the mantra of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vishwas and sabka prayaas’ given by PM Modi. It is the victory of the guarantee given by the prime minister. It is also the victory of the strategy given by Amit Shah and the able leadership provided by JP Nadda. Most importantly, it’s a victory for our party workers,” said Vasundhara Raje, senior leader of BJP and former chief minister of Rajasthan.
Interestingly, with the convincing defeats of Bhagirath Choudhary from the Kishangarh seat, Devji Patel from Sanchore, and Narendra Kumar from Mandawa, it is unlikely that these candidates will get repeated in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The party will have to work with the state leadership to find new candidates for the General Elections five months from now.
Return of Raje’s rival
However, the return of Kirori Lal Meena, one of the senior leaders of the BJP in Rajasthan, to state politics is likely to act as a balancing factor against the leadership of Raje, who is the former chief minister of Rajasthan. It was after a bitter political battle between Raje and Meena that the tribal leader was made an MP in Rajya Sabha by the BJP.
The victory of Diya Kumari from Vidhyadhar Nagar seat in Jaipur and Mahant Balak Nath from Tijara constituency in Alwar is also a sign of worry for Raje, as both of these leaders fancy their chances as the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP. The decision of the BJP not to name a chief ministerial candidate for the Rajasthan assembly polls has made a lot of aspirants believe they too have a chance to lead the BJP government in the state.
“This curiosity was there for months now. The BJP has its strategy. We contested this election under collective leadership in Rajasthan. Now, the party's parliamentary board will make a decision and whoever is given the responsibility,” said Rathore on the question of the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate.
