BJP chalks out elaborate Rajasthan campaign, demands divided unit put all hands on deck

The leaders of the various BJP factions have been told to start work on the agitation programme, which is to be launched mid-November.

The BJP will kick off the drive with a 10-day Jan Akrosh (people’s anger) agitation in each of the 200 Assembly constituencies, covering every village. There will be chariot processions, “charge-sheets” against the Congress-led state government, and distribution of leaflets on “misgovernance” by the Gehlot government.

“Every district will also see Jan Akrosh Sabhas, where party leaders will record the grievances of the public. We want the people to get the message loud and clear — that the Congress government’s misrule should end,” a senior party leader familiar with the state BJP functioning said.

December will see the launch of Chalo Jaipur marches from every district, culminating in the December 17 rally in Jaipur. “Atrocities against women and Dalits, appeasement politics and corruption are the highlights of this government, and we will expose the same,” the leader said.

While the anti-Congress government message will be at the heart of the drive, the leader admitted that they hope to keep the workers and leaders engaged and put up a united front. “They will be with the people, get familiar with their issues, leaving little time for anything else.”

Drawing eyes away from the Rahul Yatra, which has been getting impressive crowds in the south where it is passing through, is another, unstated objective.

Despite several efforts, the two factions of the BJP in Rajasthan – one led by state president Satish Poonia, and the other by former CM Vasundhara Raje – have not stopped sniping at each other. In the most recent incident, followers of Poonia shouted slogans in his support as Raje left the dais at a party programme in Jodhpur, with Raje reportedly taking up the matter with the national leadership.

Raje supporters, on the other hand, are determined that she should be the CM face, and have constantly complained of being “sidelined”by the Poonia faction. Amid reports that the Poonia faction is trying to ensure that Raje does not get a ticket for next year’s Assembly elections, she has held two shows of strength, drawing huge crowds, in Churu and Bikaner.

Party sources said both the meetings were a “clear message to the national leadership that Raje was not giving up the claim for the top post”.

Raje has no love lost with the BJP top leadership. But while the latter might hope that the former CM recedes quietly into the background, it realises the damage an angry Raje can cause the party given her clout in state politics.

She would be especially valuable should the BJP fail to get an impressive majority in the 200-member Assembly, leaving it dependent on her faithful MLAs. The party expects the ticket distribution too to be a tricky affair under the circumstances, a leader said.

However, should the party win a comfortable majority – projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the face – Raje will find herself definitely out. Apart from Poonia, other names doing the rounds as the leadership’s choice for CM in such a scenario are Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat.