Jaipur: After a long suspense, it is now official that former CM Vasundhara Raje will not lead the Parivartan Yatras of the BJP in Rajasthan. Instead, she will be 'one of the leaders' participating in the Yatras.
The party has announced the official program for four Parivartan Yatras to be conducted by the party starting from September 2. When asked about Vasundhara Raje's role in these Yatras, Onkar Singh Lakhavat, the co-convenor of the party's election management committee, stated that "Vasundhara Raje and all the senior leaders of the state will participate in the Yatras. They will address meetings, guide the election campaign, and lead the party."
Lakhawat explains why Raje will not lead the yatras
Responding to questions about why Vasundhara Raje was not leading any of the Yatras, Lakhawat explained that the party aimed to cover all assembly seats, which would not have been feasible with only one Yatra, hence the decision for four Yatras.
This move holds significance in the internal politics of the party, as it marks the first time in the last 20 years and five assembly elections that Vasundhara Raje has not led the pre-poll Yatra of the party.
Vasundhara Raje was introduced in Rajasthan as the party's face through a Yatra. In 2003, the party conducted the Parivartan Yatra to establish Vasundhara Raje as the CM face, resulting in the party winning 120 seats in Rajasthan and forming a government with a full majority for the first time.
Since then, Raje has led the pre-poll Yatras – the Sushasan Yatra in 2008 and 2018 while the party was in power, and the Parivartan Yatra in 2003 and 2013 when the party was in opposition.
Raje's Yatras have had a 50 percent success rate, as Rajasthan's voters have not allowed any party to form consecutive governments since 1998.
This time, the party has decided to conduct the Parivartan Yatra with a change in format. The party's decision to go with collective leadership suggests a departure from pushing a single face, a major shift in terms of leadership, according to senior journalist and political analyst Jagdish Sharma.
However, the BJP's decision to conduct four Yatras has provided an opportunity for Congress to criticize BJP's factionalism. Party president Govind Singh Dotasra remarked in the media that this clearly indicates factionalism in BJP, as they are sending four leaders in different directions and cannot make these leaders sit together.
