BJP balances castes, internal politics in new chiefs for four Opposition-ruled states

In Rajasthan, Chittorgarh MP C P Joshi replaces Satish Poonia. In Delhi, Virender Sachdeva, who has been holding charge as working state president since Adesh Gupta stepped down in December after the MCD poll defeat, got confirmed as full-time state chief. State Legislative Council Leader of Opposition and Kushwaha leader Samrat Choudhary is the pick for Bihar, replacing Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal. And former revenue minister Manmohal Samal takes over in Odisha.

Joshi’s appointment in Rajasthan, where the party is struggling to create an effective narrative, is seen as a last-ditch effort by the central leadership to keep the state unit together. Soft-spoken Joshi, a Brahmin leader with a strong RSS background, does not owe allegiance to any major leader or group in the state unit, party sources said.

The BJP national leadership has so far maintained that the party will go for the Assembly elections due later this year seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without declaring a chief ministerial candidate. However, the party has a battery of leaders who want to be at the top, starting with former CM Vasundhara Raje and including Poonia, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw being the latest addition to this list.

A large section sees Joshi’s selection as an indication that the central leadership has not been able to keep Raje at bay. The Raje faction has long held a grudge against Poonia alleging that the state unit kept her out of key decisions as well as programmes. Joshi could be more acceptable to Raje, whose support base cannot be ignored by the BJP leadership. Earlier, another leader seen as inimical to Raje, Gulab Chand Kataria, was moved out as Governor of Assam.

Like Joshi, Sachdeva is expected to build bridges in the strife-torn Delhi unit. A Delhi BJP MP said he is the best bet for this. “The BJP has a very conducive atmosphere to regain its ground in the state, and what we have been lacking is a good leader who can keep everyone together. Sachdeva is expected to do that,” the MP said.

In Bihar, where the BJP faced a massive jolt when it lost power after its ally JD(U) broke ties to move to the Mahagathbandhan, Chaudhary is expected to not just cut into Nitish’s traditional Kurmi-Koeri base but also match the RJD’s young leader Tejashwi Yadav in aggression.

While an active leader who initiated various programmes and initiatives, Chaudhary’s predecessor Jaiswal was considered a mild face in comparison. “This is a concerted, conscious and deliberate move by the BJP to woo the Koeri community away from Nitish Kumar. The BJP is trying to expand its footprint in Bihar. We have a Deputy Chief Minister (Keshav Prasad Maurya from Uttar Pradesh) also from the community,” a senior party leader said.

In Odisha, the new state chief, Samal, who also held the post earlier, has an ABVP background and is credited with the BJP’s win in the recent Dhamnagar by-election. With Samal an OBC face, the BJP hopes this will consolidate the OBC community votes in the state – estimated to number more than 50 per cent of the state’s population – at a time when the ruling BJD is also focusing on backward classes.