Under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, BJP has been known to deny tickets to sitting MLAs to beat anti-incumbency.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied tickets to three Rajasthan ministers and 15 incumbent MLAs in its second list of 31 candidates announced Wednesday.
The move is likely to trigger more trouble for the ruling party, which is already witnessing resignations and rebellion by party leaders who did not find their names in the first list of 131 candidates.
The party is yet to announce candidates for 38 of the state’s 200 assembly seats. Rajasthan votes on 7 December.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, the BJP is known to deny tickets to sitting legislators to beat anti-incumbency.
The situation in Rajasthan is different though. It’s chief minister Vasundhara Raje, and not just the MLAs, who is said to be the principal factor for strong anti-incumbency against the BJP government.
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Resentment
Those denied tickets in the second list include Gyan Dev Ahuja, the Ramgarh MLA who had courted controversy for alleging that 3,000 used condoms were found daily at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, where “students danced naked”.
He had also allegedly backed the cow vigilantes accused of lynching Rakbar Khan in Alwar, saying police should be held responsible for his death as they delayed taking him to hospital.
Ahuja is known to be a vocal critic of Raje.
The three state ministers who were denied tickets were Rajkumar Rinwa from Ratangarh, Baboo Lal Verma from Keshoraipatan, and Jeetmal Khant from Garhi.
The suspense over whether the BJP will nominate Deedwana MLA Yoonus Khan, a close aide of Raje, continues. The party has already denied a ticket to one incumbent MLA, Habib ur Rahaman, from Nagaur, prompting him to resign from the party.
Surendra Goyal, another minister, also resigned after being denied a ticket from his constituency, Jaitaran. He is likely to contest as an Independent.
‘More resignations’
“The party may be looking at many more resignations due to denial of tickets,” said a senior leader, “These resignations could hurt the party’s chances to come back to power for a consecutive term.”
Sources in the party said the chief minister and her close aides were instrumental in the denial of tickets to their detractors. Rinwa, for instance, was denied a ticket at the behest of Rajendra Rathore, a close aide of Raje.
“Due to Rinwa’s popularity in the region and on his seat, Rathore did not want him around,” said another party leader.
“He is upset and can contest elections as an Independent from Ratangarh. It is also possible that he may switch to the neighbouring seat of Churu and contest against Rathore,” the leader added.
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The man nominated in place of Rinwa is turncoat Abhinesh Mahrishi, who was once known to be close to state Congress chief Ashok Gehlot and has also lost elections on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket.
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To give credit where it is due, the electoral juggernaut is relentless. Rajasthan is as much a lost cause as UPA II was. But the army will fight to the last man, the last bullet.