Rajasthan: Despite key advantage of Congress facing anti-incumbency factor, BJP struggles due to internal rebellion

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, October 17

Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, a descendant of renowned Mewar king Maharana Pratap Singh, and Bhawani Singh Kalvi, son of Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi, today joined the BJP in the presence of Rajasthan state president CP Joshi and Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Both exuded confidence that people of Rajasthan will “support BJP and vote out Congress”. Both belong to the Rajput community—an important vote base in Rajasthan which the BJP is trying to woo.

According to observers, the aim appears to be to reassure the electorally important community after Narpat Singh Rajvi, a five-time MLA and son-in-law of party stalwart Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, lashed out at the Central leadership of the party after being denied a ticket.

As the saffron party gears up for the polls scheduled for November 25, it is taking no chances despite having the key advantage of anti-incumbency against the Ashok Gehlot government and the traditional revolving door syndrome in the state.

Notably, the release of the first list of 41 candidates last week sparked off widespread discontent among state leaders who were denied tickets or were sidelined in the decision-making process. Though the party fielded seven MPs on seats considered “weak”, prominent names missing from the list were of former CM Vasundhara Raje; Rajvi and Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, a Raje loyalist.

According to sources, many belonged to the camp of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is said to have been sidelined by central leaders in ticket’ distribution and decision making.

“BJP should have taken stateleaders into confidence. If rebellion is not contained, a Himachal Pradesh like situation may emerge inRajasthan. BJP needs to minimise the split of anti-incumbency votes to upset Gehlot,” say observers.

Rajasthan—BJP’s issues

Rajasthan can be counted among the traditional Hindi heartland states that form the crux of the politics of two main contestants in Rajasthan—BJP and Congress.

In the upcoming elections, Rajasthan is an interesting state to watch out for due to various reasons.

In 2018, Congress managed to form the government in a tough fight with the ruling BJP. However, currently both sides, Congress and BJP, are dealing with multiple issues—factionalism, internal strife and chief ministerial aspirants. While Congress is also dealing with the anti-incumbency factor in the state that traditionally follows the revolving door syndrome, BJP appears to have ruffled many feathers by “ignoring rightful claim of those working hard on the ground for five years for the day.”

Other parties in the fray include Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Bharatiya Tribal Party, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and RLD. While the main contest is between incumbent Congress and opposition BJP, the smaller players have the capability of acting as spoilers and this is where the importance of outfits like Karni Sena comes in.

All is not well

By fielding seven MPs, the BJP appeared to send the signal that it was taking the elections seriously and that state leaders need to prove their worth/merit on the ground, especially those who were elected to the Lok Sabha riding on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, if ground reports are any indication, the move seems to have backfired, especially those on which MPs have been fielded.

Disgruntled aspirants and their supporters are not following state leaders’ directions to work together for the official candidate, say sources. Now that the announcement of the second candidate list is due, BJP president JP Nadda is meeting state leaders, urging them to contain the rebellion. A committee has also been formed under Barmer MP and Union minister Kailash Choudhary to mollify disgruntled leaders and dissuade them from contesting against party candidates.

“The party has deputed several leaders in different regions to talk to those who are angry. The buzz is that they may be pacified with the promise of a Lok Sabha seat in either case, if the MP wins or loses. However, state leaders are also angry that they have no say in decision-making. The question therefore is why should they listen to state leaders,” they add.

Protests and rebellion

Reports of protests and rebellion have been pouring from many places, including Deoli-Uniara where BJP has fielded Vijay Bainsla, son of Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla. Supporters of Rajendra Gujjar, BJP’s candidate in 2018, also protested before Rajendra Rathore who visited the constituency this weekend to pacify.

Rebellion has also been reported from Sanchore, where BJP fielded MP Devji Patel, and Tijara where party MP Balaknath received “dismal reception” when he reached the constituency after the announcement.

Meanwhile, in Jhotwara supporters of Rajpal Shekhawat showed black flags to former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is contesting from the seat. Rathore’s peace offering by way of sweets failed to impress the supporters of Rajpal, according to reports.

In Nagar, where the party has fielded Jawahar Singh Bedam, Anita Singh Gurjar announced the decision to contest as an Independent. “The BJP has not given me a ticket due to my proximity to Vasundharaji. Instead, they gave the ticket to someone who lost in another constituency by 50,000 votes,” she wrote on the social media

According to observers, protests like this are not common in BJP.