Rumblings in Rajasthan BJP as fielding MPs in fray sparks aspirants’ discontent

Of Rajasthan’s 25 Lok Sabha MPs, there are 24 from the BJP, whose constituencies cover most of the Assembly segments in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly.

With seven sitting MPs already announced as candidates in the BJP’s first list of 41 names, it is expected that more parliamentarians will be asked to contest in the remaining 159 seats. However, the decision to field MPs is already drawing opposition from several local BJP leaders who were hoping to contest the elections from those seats.

Among the MPs whose candidatures have been announced in the first list, Diya Kumari and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore are considered as party heavyweights.

Kumari is a first-time MP from Rajsamand and a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family. Before she became an MP in 2019, Kumari was the BJP MLA from Sawai Madhopur between 2013 and 2018. Kumari, a member of the state executive, is viewed as a rising leader in the party. She has been fielded from the Vidhyadhar Nagar Assembly constituency, where the sitting MLA is from the BJP.

Rathore, a two-term MP and former Union minister of state, was an Olympic silver medallist in shooting. He is also the BJP’s national spokesperson. He has been fielded from the Jhotwara seat, an Assembly segment under his Jaipur Rural Lok Sabha constituency, which is currently held by the Congress.

Both Kumari and Rathore have been fielded from seats that are considered relatively safe for the BJP, replacing party ticket aspirants who are considered close to Raje.

From the Tijara Assembly constituency, currently held by the Congress, the BJP has fielded Hindu priest Baba Balak Nath, who is the incumbent Alwar MP. Balak Nath is a disciple of the late Chand Nath Yogi, former BJP Alwar MP and mahant of the Baba Mastnath Math in Haryana’s Rohtak. Before his death in 2017, Chand Nath had declared Balak Nath his successor.

Jhunjhunu MP Narendra Kumar has been fielded from the Mandawa seat in his home district. In 2018, Kumar had won the constituency but later had to resign after he won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Thereafter, the Congress’s Rita Choudhary had won the seat in a bypoll. The BJP has once again fielded Kumar to wrest the seat from the Congress.

Among the most prominent names in the BJP’s first list is Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, the party’s tallest tribal leader in Rajasthan, from the Sawai Madhopur Assembly constituency, where the BJP lost to the Congress in 2018. By fielding Meena, a multiple-time MLA and MP with a formidable following in eastern Rajasthan, the BJP hopes to improve its performance in districts where it does not have any seats, including in Sawai Madhopur’s four Assembly constituencies. In 2018, the BJP won only one of the 24 constituencies in eastern Rajasthan districts.

Other MPs in the fray are Ajmer’s Bhagirath Choudhary and Jalore-­Sirohi’s Devji Patel, who have been fielded from the seats in their respective regions.

However, after these MPs were announced as candidates, voices of discontent from local BJP leaders seeking tickets from these seats suggest that infighting could impact the BJP’s performance.

Vikas Choudhary, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2018 Assembly election from Kishangarh, was replaced by Bhagirath Choudhary.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Vikas said he will contest the elections. “What choice do I have but to contest? I have been with the BJP since 2008 and received 65,000 votes in the 2018 elections. But the party has chosen a 70-year-old in place of a 36-year-old. Is this what you call promoting the youth?” he said.

In Jhotwara, supporters of senior BJP leader and four-time MLA Rajpal Singh Shekhawat voiced their discontent over MP Rathore’s candidacy, with some protesting the decision at the BJP office in Jaipur. Diya Kumari is already facing the opposition of incumbent Vidhyadhar Nagar MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, the son-in-law of former Vice President and Rajasthan CM Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The BJP’s former Tijara MLA Maman Singh Yadav too joined the band of dissenters. A tearful Yadav said at a panchayat meeting in Tijara on Tuesday that if the public wants, he will contest against Balak Nath. MP Devji Patel has also been facing opposition from the BJP leaders in Sanchore since his candidacy was announced.

Rajasthan BJP in-charge Arun Singh said on Tuesday that if some party leaders have issues with the ticket distribution, the party will try to convince them. BJP sources said an internal committee has been formed under the leadership of Union Minister Kailash Choudhary to placate the angry party leaders.