The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parivartan Sankalp Yatra, a grand outreach to voters in poll-bound Rajasthan, on Wednesday arrived in Jhalawar. Besides its historical magnificence, the district is home to BJP leader and two-time Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who has held this constituency in various capacities for 33 years now..
Yet, for all its pomp and show, this was the first time in two decades that a BJP yatra of this scale and magnitude had its star power, Vasundhara Raje, missing. Four ‘Parivartan Yatras’ were launched between September 2 and 5 with an aim to cover all the 200 Assembly seats and close to 9,000 km across the state.
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While BJP president JP Nadda flagged off the first yatra from Trinetra Ganesh Temple in Sawai Madhopur on September 2, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the second yatra from Beneshwar Dham in Dungarpur on September 3. The latter will cover 52 constituencies in Udaipur and Kota divisions and Bhilwara district in 19 days.
The third yatra was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 4 from the Ramdevra Temple in Jaisalmer to cover 51 constituencies of Jodhpur division, Ajmer and Nagaur districts in 18 days. The fourth yatra was launched by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on September 5 from Gogamedi in Hanumangarh by to cover 50 constituencies in Bikaner division, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Alwar districts in 18 days.
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Raje’s absence from these yatras is striking. For a leader who has served as the Rajasthan Chief Minister from 2003-2008 and again, from 2013-2018 to not be part of a crucial party outreach is certainly questionable. The preparations for the Yatra saw giant posters featuring Raje, but the leader made not one appearance in the 20 days of the yatra so far.
A former royal usually referred to as Maharani and a leader known for speaking her mind, Raje fell out of favour with the central leadership, apparently over reports of her “autocratic” style of functioning.
Raje’s absence stands in stark contrast with her past record. Since 2003, the BJP has organised four yatras in the state with Raje leading three of them. In 2003, the yatra commenced from Charbhuja Temple in Rajsamand, covering a staggering 13,000 kilometers and culminating in the formation of a BJP government under Vasundhara Raje’s leadership.
Similarly, in 2013, the Suraj Sankalp Yatra saw the BJP ascend to power in the state, with Vasundhara Raje becoming the Chief Minister for a second term. The Vijay Sankalp Yatra, which kicked off on September 2 this year, has so far covered around 51 assembly constituencies covering around 2,500 km.
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The lackluster turnout in the yatra and a less enthused party cadre are all being attributed to Raje’s absence. While the state leadership maintains a studied silence on the matter, Raje set off on a temple run of her own just one day before the yatra was scheduled to begin.
This, while the BJP fielded Himanta Biswa Sarma in CM Ashok Gehlot’s home turf in Jodhpur, UP Deputy CM Keshav Maurya in Alwar, and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in the Jhalrapatan. Raje did not even attend the public meeting organised by CM Pushkar Dhami in her home district of Jhalawar.
Ever since the BJP’s defeat in the 2018 elections, Raje has been apparently pushed to the sidelines. She has made very few public appearances and has maintained a low profile in the years following the BJP’s defeat. However, her support base within the state unit of the party remained steadfast.
It is this support that saw attempts by the BJP to install a prominent leader from the state to replace Raje fail repeatedly. On its part, the party’s central leadership has so far refused to name Raje as its CM face. Yet, Raje’s popularity has ensured that no other leader can be named as the CM face either.
It is still not clear how Raje’s absence from the BJP yatra will play out for the BJP in the elections. But it does mark the beginning of a new chapter in Rajasthan’s politics, specifically for the BJP, as it aims to dislodge traditional rivals Congress in a state that has never re-elected a party to power in nearly three decades.