Jaipur: Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the tallest figure in the Rajasthan BJP has been sidelined completely and the party is grooming new leadership in the state.
After the induction of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Rajput), Kailash Choudhry (Jat) and Arjun Meghwal (Dalit) as junior ministers in the Cabinet and the elevation of two-time MP from Kota Om Birla as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, the BJP’s central leadership has sent Raje into oblivion.
Vasundhara Raje’s home turf Hadauti region which considered a forte of the saffron party is now rejoicing the elevation of Birla as the Speaker of Lok Sabha and Birla has overshadowed Raje in her own home turf.
The claim for a berth in the Central cabinet by Raje’s son Dushyant Singh, the four-time Member of Parliament from Jhalawar, has been overlooked by the party and a first timer Kailash Choudhry now represents the Jats in the Cabinet. Dushyant Singh is also a Jat.
Birla, who is a second term MP has been able to win the confidence of both the Prime Minister and the party president and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The political observers in the BJP here feel that the party has not even consulted Vasundhara Raje for key appointments and she has been reduced as one of the 73 legislators.
The party has made Gulab Chand Kataria as the leader of the Opposition and Vasundhara Raje has no role to play in the party’s organisation, though she has a large number of MLAs on her side.
Both Shah and Om Birla served the BJP’s youth wing and have been friends for the past two decades. This friendship helped Birla get the position of Speaker.
It seems the party is keen to give Shekhawat a bigger role in the state politics and Vasundhara Raje is paying a heavy price for opposing Shekhawat’s nomination as the President of the state unit last year.
Shekhawat was the choice of Amit Shah, but Vasundhara opposed Shah’s nomination that forced the party to make Rajya Sabha member Madan Lal Saini as the state unit president.
Saini is likely to continue as the President after the party’s success in the Lok Sabha poll where it won all the 25 seats at stake. Though Raje is the vice president of BJP, she has not been allowed to play any role in that capacity.
Shekhawat is likely to be groomed to take over the leadership and a large number of state legislators and MPs are making a beeline to Shekhawat’s house in Delhi as he is likely to to be projected as the next Chief Minister.
Shekhawat is now being considered a tall figure in the western Rajasthan and in time to come he is likely to challenge Ashok Gehlot in the Marwar region after the party’s grand success in the Lok Sabha election.
Gehlot has lost his grip in the western Rajasthan as his own son Vaibhav Gehlot lost the election from Jodhpur to Shekhawat.
Political observers feel that after the Budget session of the Lok Sabha, the BJP will try to destabilise the Congress governments in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Thus a lot of political activities are likely to be witnessed in the month of August in these states.
BY Prakash Bhandari
