Is Vasundhara Raje back in reckoning in Rajasthan after meeting Nadda?

New Delhi: The meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party chief JP Nadda and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia in Jaipur has fuelled speculation that the saffron front’s top leadership may finally relent and find a suitable role for her ahead of the crucial state legislative assembly polls later this year.

The important meeting between the top two leaders took place as the BJP chief was in the Pink City for the wedding ceremony of his son Harish. The meeting has fuelled talk that the central leadership may give her another shot at the top political position in the state. 

Earlier this week, Vasundhara’s picture in the poster outside the BJP's state headquarters at the party's working committee meeting had also fuelled speculation on the return in the reckoning of the former Chief Minister.

BJP President’s meeting with Vasundhara assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to visit Rajasthan on January 28 and is expected to address the party’s booth-level workers.

BJP, which is desperately trying to win Rajasthan, is trying hard to end factionalism within saffron ranks as the saffron front aims to present a united front to take on the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress. Party sources stated that the top leadership is trying to reach out and mend fences with Vasundhara as they do not want another photo finish in the polls, similar to the one in 2018.

The central leadership of the BJP has already expressed unhappiness with the factionalism in the Rajasthan unit and has decided to ensure discipline and decorum are restored to ensure victory in the 2023 Legislative Assembly polls. 

Currently, Rajasthan is the only big state that is governed by Congress.

The BJP leadership feels that the biggest challenge that it faces in Rajasthan would not come from the ruling Congress. Rather, it will be how the saffron unit's central leadership tackles factionalism within the party. Hence, the need to reach out to Vasundhara, sources pointed out.  

The saffron unit fears that unless Vasundhara is on board with the BJP’s Rajasthan plan it would be very difficult for it to wrest the state from the Congress. The BJP knows that despite being out of power the former Chief Minister still yields a lot of influence in the state and can certainly play spoilsport if she is not taken into confidence by the central leadership ahead of the Assembly polls. This can essentially create a Himachal Pradesh-like phenomenon in the desert state, which the saffron front leadership is desperately trying to avoid, sources added.

The state BJP is expected to fight under the leadership and face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has been directed to hold demonstrations and meetings from February 15 to March 15 to gherao the Congress at the district level, sources added.  

An overhaul of the state unit is expected soon with the appointment of office bearers and other top posts to accommodate various castes and regions of the state, sources stated.

The saffron party wants to ensure that its political strategy is strongly in place to ensure its victory in Rajasthan.

The BJP feels that it can regain the border state as the Congress too is battling factionalism between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

In the 2018 polls, Congress was able to scrape through by securing 100 seats in the 200-member Assembly. While the BJP came second at 75 seats. The saffron front blames factionalism within its ranks for the 2018 Assembly polls defeat. The BJP hopes to rein in various factions this time around.

Interestingly, after losing the state polls in 2018, the very next year the BJP-RLP alliance secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in 2019. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to seek a third term in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP wants to ensure it is able to retain the maximum possible Lok Sabha seats in the state and ensure a saffron wave continues.