JAIPUR
The BJP will push “Hindutva’ agenda in an apparent bid to polarise the votes in Rajasthan. During recent rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have already given an indication about the same. The BJP is banking on issues like Ram Mandir, “poor” law and order, women safety, paper leaks, etc. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has a Hindutva hardliner image, will also be addressing rallies in Rajasthan after Diwali. It will be interesting to see how BJP’s polarisation politics gets a further push. However, it is difficult to assess whether polarisation will benefit BJP in Rajasthan where Muslim population is low.
In fact, the “law and order” is the only substantial issue that the BJP has raised against the Gehlot government. No doubt, the Congress has been responsible for such a situation. Some incidents in Rajasthan over the past few months gave the BJP a handle against the Gehlot government.
Meanwhile, PM Modi’s speech gave an impression that he is also setting the narrative for the Lok Sabha polls. He sought to woo the poor, women and youth, keeping in mind the Lok Sabha goals as well. Modi is not targeting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot directly. Nor is he targeting Gehlot’s schemes.
In fact, the BJP could not make experiments as per its plans in Rajasthan. Earlier, BJP wanted to field heavyweights including MPs and Union ministers. But the resentment after release of the first list of candidates forced the leadership to backtrack on this proposed experiment. The resentment among the party cadres was due to the impression that former CM Vasundhara Raje was being side-lined. So, the party decided not to give tickets to Union Ministers and state unit president CP Joshi. Leaders like Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Joshi and Arjun Meghwal were not fielded in elections. All of them were understood to be strong contenders for CM post. So, the leadership did not release their names to give a message that Raje is still under consideration for the CM post. Internal problems subsided thereafter.
But still the BJP could not find any counter for Gehlot’s public welfare schemes. The saffron party could not generate any wave in rural areas in the absence of a CM face. A year ago, Raje used to visit villages, creating an impact among women voters. This time, Gehlot stole the march over BJP through Bachat Rahat Camps.
PM Modi has already termed Gehlot’s schemes as “rewadi” ‘freebies’. Even the BJP ruled states want to implement OPS and health schemes of Rajasthan. But PM Modi does not approve these schemes. The BJP has finally decided to fight assembly polls banking on PM Modi’s popularity. Collective leadership formula is in place. However, there was nothing like collective leadership during rallies of Modi and Shah. Raje and some other heavyweights were not present on the stage. State president C.P. Joshi was seen sitting on the dais. BJP is also lagging behind Congress in terms of campaign pitch.
CM Gehlot is leading the campaign on behalf of Congress, focussing on local issues. BJP is banking on national leaders only. Delhi leadership is taking all decisions. The BJP is making corruption a big issue. BJP is buttressing its claims against the government over corruption in the light of the recent ED raids. However, nothing solid has come up that could damage the government’s reputation.
The BJP will try to reach out to the youth voters by raising paper leak cases. Modi is also trying to win support of the poor by highlighting his decision to give free ration to 80 crore poor families. Congress opposed it and gave an opportunity to the PM to criticise the ruling party in Rajasthan. PM Modi has termed Congress anti-poor. It is clear that the BJP will continue to raise Ram Mandir, women safety, law and order and other polarising issues. Congress will find it difficult to counter BJP’s polarisation politics if the Kanhaiya Lal murder case gains traction with the public. Modi brought up this grisly murder during the Udaipur rally linking it to the issue of deterioration in law and order. The issue might take a serious turn as the campaign gains momentum.