Vasundhara Raje Accommodated in BJP second list
UMESH JOSHI
NEW DELHI : BJP on Saturday the saffron party has fielded BJP national vice-president and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje from Jhalarpatan. Raje, was among the 83 candidates announced by BJP to contest in the upcoming state assembly elections.
The first list had names of prominent leaders such as Diya Kumari and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. While Diya Kumari will contest the polls from Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency in Jaipur, Rathore, a former Union minister and retired Army officer, was fielded from Jhotwara, also in Jaipur district.
Ms Raje being sidelined in BJP’s first list of candidates had drawn sharp reactions from the opposition. But in a move that is seen as an attempt to balance political equations, several of Ms Raje’s supporters also feature in BJP’s new list. The second list was announced after the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in New Delhi on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda were among the key leaders present in the meeting. This was most likely the last CEC meet of the saffron party before the Assembly elections next month. Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan assembly will be held on November 25 and the results will be announced on December 3.
The BJP fielded Narpat Singh Rajvi from Chittorgarh after its earlier decision to deny the five-term MLA renomination from his Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency. Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, a descendent of Maharana Pratap Singh, has been fielded from Nathdwara, which was won by Congress veteran CP Joshi in the last elections. Satish Punia will contest from Amber; Rajendra Rathod from Taranagar, and Jyoti Mirdha from Nagaur. The party has named 83 candidates in its second list.
The party has also fielded Santosh Bawri from Anupgarh, Santosh Ahlawat from Surajgarh, Sushree Siddhi Kumari from Bikaner East, Anita Bhadel from Ajmer South, Shobha Chauhan from Sojat, Deepti Maheshwari from Rajsamand.Earlier last month, the party had announced the names of 41 candidates in its first list. Ms Raje has been at loggerheads with Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and has not been visible in BJP’s election blitz yet. The two leaders have not been close ever since Ms Raje opposed Mr Shekhawat’s appointment as BJP chief in Rajasthan in 2018 saying it would distance the jaat community from the party in the 2018 elections.
Vasundhara Raje comes from the Scindia royal family, the former rulers of Gwalior, now in Madhya Pradesh. Her mother Vijayaraje Scindia was a prominent leader in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) and later in the BJP. Her brother Madhavrao Scindia was a prominent Congress leader.
In its second list, BJP also fielded Narpat Singh Rajvi from Chittorgarh from Vidhyadhar Nagar seat after its earlier decision to deny the five-term MLA. Mr Rajvi is the son-in-law of its stalwart leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and his name missing from the first list triggered a backlash from a section of party workers.
The BJP leadership’s U-turn on his candidature is being seen as a damage-control exercise after Mr Rajvi reacted angrily and cited his family legacy to hit out at the party. In the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress won 100 seats, while the BJP had 73. The Congress finally formed the government, and Ashok Gehlot was installed as Chief Minister, after support from the Bahujan Samaj Party, which claimed six seats.
