With Vasundhara not falling in line, is BJP staring at a 2018 repeat?

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has a herculean task ahead in Rajasthan. The inability of its central leadership to keep former chief minister and senior party leader Vasundhara Raje under control is expected to play spoilsport for the saffron unit in the forthcoming Assembly polls in the states, just like it did in 2018.  

Sources stated that despite repeated attempts by the top leadership of the BJP, the party has been unable to restrict and streamline the role of Vasundhara with just a few months to go for crucial Assembly polls. Though Vasundhara was asked to provide help to the local state unit and support the party’s cause, she has reportedly been unwilling to abide by the instructions.

It is understood that Vasundhara has maintained an independent outlook and has been insisting on a clearly defined role ahead of the crucial polls, sources stated.

This is despite the fact that the central leadership of the saffron unit had repeatedly asked state leadership to maintain discipline and decorum to ensure victory in the 2023 Legislative Assembly polls.

The state leadership was instructed to work as a united front and avoid factionalism to regain power in the crucial border state. Sources stated that BJP chief JP Nadda is soon expected to hold detailed discussions with various factions in the state unit and seek their views regarding various issues being faced by the party. 

Many in the party believe that the biggest challenge that the BJP will be facing in Rajasthan would not come from the ruling Congress. Rather, it will be how the saffron unit's central leadership tackles factionalism – read Vasundhara -- within the party. 

The BJP knows that it was saffron rebels that had ensured its defeat in 2018 and the party is trying hard to ensure that a repeat of this scenario is avoided at all costs.

As BJP faces a nightmare, why Congress is looking confident?

Riding on the back of faction-ridden BJP, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led Congress, is confident of regaining power in the desert state. This is a complete turnaround for the grand old party which had been written off as it was battling anti-incumbency and rebellion led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. 

Though Rajasthan has a history of awarding Assembly wins to BJP and Congress alternately, the Congress is targeting an unprecedented second successive term in the state and has given a complete free hand to Gehlot for finalising election strategy and candidates for the 200-member Assembly polls. 

It is understood that the grand old party may come out with its first list of candidates for the 200-member assembly soon. “This is being done to ensure ample time for candidates to prepare in their respective areas and also give out a clear message to the cadre as to who has the backing of the party,” sources added.

NewsDrum had earlier reported that the Congress is preparing to fight anti-incumbency in Rajasthan by denying tickets to about one-third of its sitting legislators, including most of the Sachin Pilot loyalists.

Rajasthan is an important state for both the BJP and Congress and the two are in direct contest for the important state ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha polls.   

The BJP- Rashtriya Loktantrik Party alliance secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in 2019. This completely reversed the Assembly polls outcome of 2018 where the BJP could only secure 75 seats in the 200 members Assembly. The BJP had also successfully secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in the 2014 general elections, a record that the saffron unit wants to repeat in 2024.       

After a confidence-boosting win in Karnataka, the Congress leadership feels that it can win the forthcoming Assembly polls in the desert state and is banking on the rebels in BJP to hand over a victory to the grand old party.