BJP president Amit Shah has been holding rallies without CM Vasundhara Raje, something he rarely does in other poll-bound states.
New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje do not seem to be on the same page, barely two months before assembly elections in the state.
Raje may be the BJP’s face in Rajasthan but much of the party’s political strategy and mobilisation of workers is being driven by Shah, in clear indication of the growing rift between the two.
The chief minister, known to be close to party veteran L.K. Advani, had a prolonged tug-of-war with the Central leadership over the appointment of a new state BJP president following the resignation of Ashok Parnami in April.
Also read: The many ‘sins’ of Vasundhara Raje that are coming back to haunt her
Raje refused to accept Shah’s nominee for the post – union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The tussle went on for two months before the two sides found a mutually agreeable candidate in Madan Lal Saini.
Proactive BJP chief leaves CM out of events
Shah has been quite pro-active in Rajasthan, where no party has won consecutive elections in the past 25 years. The BJP president has been addressing a number of meetings and rallies in the state, reaching out to tribals and farmers, and mobilising party workers without the chief minister in tow.
Raje has been conspicuously absent from many shakti sammelans (rallies) and other meetings that Shah has addressed. In Jodhpur, where Shah addressed a yuva sammelan on 16 September, Raje was absent while Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stood beside the BJP president.
The chief minister was again not present when Shah addressed an ST sammelan in Udaipur and a Kisan sammelan at Nagore on 18 September. The Shakti Kendra sammelans at Nagore and Ajmer were also helmed by Shah without the CM.
Different rules for different states
It is in stark contrast to the BJP president’s engagements in the other two major poll-bound states – Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh – where the chief ministers, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh, join him during his campaign.
Chouhan accompanied Shah when he visited Madhya Pradesh for a party workers’ meet in May. The two were together during the CM’s Vikas Yatra in Ambikapur and again during the launch of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra. Both PM and Shah are expected to address a Karykarta Mahakumbh in MP.
In Chhattisgarh, Shah addressed a shakti sammelan with Singh in September. They were together during the inauguration of an auditorium. Shah also launched the Tala Vikas Yatra with Singh, apart from launching the 112 single number emergency service.
Shah, however, was present during the launch of Raje’s yatra. Other than that, the BJP chief’s programmes in Rajasthan haven’t featured the chief minister.
Also read: Rajasthan BJP waits as Amit Shah & Vasundhara Raje can’t agree on new state party chief
Party insiders say Raje had offered to accompany Shah when he was in the state for meetings. “This offer was rejected. Shah said she should focus on her yatra,” said a BJP leader, adding that the party’s events have been designed in a manner that the two won’t cross each other in any region.
“There is discontentment against the CM among the party cadre. If you notice, Shah is addressing shakti kendras and worker sammelans,” another senior party leader explained.
“If Raje comes on these fora, the objective, to placate the cadre and motivate them, would fail,” the leader added, seeking to downplay the apparent differences between the CM and the BJP president.
But her arrogance threat blackmail will harm her
The explanation given towards the end of the column sounds credible. The party’s CMs in MP and Chhatisgarh have been in power for three terms, are seen as good administrators. Anti incumbency has undoubtedly built up, as is normal over fifteen years. Both men still have a fighting chance. Not so with Ms Vasundhara Raje. That no party has been returned to power in the state over the last 25 years actually provides her with an alibi.