New Delhi: BJP MP Diya Kumari has won from Jaipur’s Vidyadhar Nagar constituency by a margin of over 71,000 votes against Sita Ram Agarwal of the Congress.
The Congress Rajasthan unit treasurer had lost to Narpat Singh Rajvi of the BJP from the same seat in 2018. Vidyadhar Nagar has been a BJP stronghold, with Rajvi winning the seat since 2008.
Meanwhile, Rajvi, the son-in-law of former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, came third in a triangular fight in Chittorgarh where Chandrabhan Singh Chouhan, an Independent candidate, won with a margin of nearly 7,000 votes over Surendra Singh Jadawat of the Congress.
Kumari, 52, became the talk of the town ever since the BJP denied the sought-after Vidyadhar Nagar ticket to Rajvi in favour of the erstwhile royal. Her stature in the BJP is said to be rising steadily, and there have been indications that she is being groomed to appeal to Rajputs and women voters — Vasundhara Raje’s core support base.
In the recent months, Kumari, the granddaughter of Maharani Gayatri Devi, has been at the forefront of the BJP’s attack on chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot. She has been vocal about women’s issues in the state.
In August, when the party organised the ‘Nahi Sahega Rajasthan’ campaign against issues like exam paper leaks, law and order, and alleged atrocities against women, Kumari led protests in Jaipur and picketed Gehlot’s residence.
After Parliament passed the women’s reservation bill on 21 September, PM Narendra Modi visited Jaipur to conclude the party’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’. While Raje was absent, Kumari was present at the gathering where 500 women were selected to welcome the PM and showcase gratitude for the legislation. Kumari, along with BJP leader Alka Gurjar, was in charge of managing the conduct of affairs on the dais.
Kumari had made a grand entry into the BJP in September 2013 in the presence of Modi, who was in Jaipur to address Raje’s assembly rally. Ace shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had also joined the party at the event. Both Rathore and Kumari were said to have been handpicked by Raje to bolster the BJP’s Rajput representation.
Soon after, Kumari was fielded from the Sawai Madhopur assembly constituency, pitted against tribal leader Kirodi Lal Meena, who had revolted against Raje. Kumari won the 2013 election from the seat, but did not contest in 2018. She cited personal reasons but it was rumoured that Raje was against fielding her.
Kumari was fielded by the BJP high command in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Rajsamand. She went on to win by over 5 lakh votes. Kumari was also made the party’s general secretary for Rajasthan that year.
In Chittorgarh, Rajvi was pitted against BJP rebel Chandrabhan Singh Aakya and Gehlot confidant Surendra Singh Jadawat.
Rajvi made headlines last month after the BJP fielded Kumari, instead of him, from Vidyadhar Nagar. The Congress had fielded Jadawat, who has earlier lost two elections against Aakya.
After he was denied a ticket by the BJP, Aakya blamed BJP state president C.P. Joshi for his situation. Aakya decided to fight independently against the BJP candidate.
In his campaign, Aakya alleged that Joshi held a grudge against him since college days and conspired to not field him, but “the people of the constituency backed him”.
Rajvi, 72, was first elected to the assembly from Chittorgarh in 1993 when Shekhawat was chief minister of Rajasthan. He also served as a minister in the state, handling key portfolios including health and industries. In 1990, Rajvi was credited with saving the Shekhawat government by triggering a split in the Janata Dal.
He remained a prominent leader in Rajasthan until Vasundhara Raje — a protege of Shekhawat — dropped him from the cabinet during her second tenure as chief minister.
The five-time MLA had earlier said that the BJP is banking only on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to win elections. He had openly expressed dissent when he was denied candidature from Vidyadhar Nagar, leading the BJP to field him from Chittorgarh.
“It was sudden. There was no reason for it. I got to know about it only through the news. No one (from the party) discussed it with me before declaring the list of candidates,” he had told ThePrint in November.
(Edited by Tony Rai)