Satish Poonia defies odds to mark 3 years as Rajasthan BJP chief, in stronger position than ever

While Poonia might have downplayed his ambitions, the fact that he wants to continue as the BJP president till the Assembly elections is a significant detail that hints at his future plans.

Raje’s two tenures as CM (2013 to 2018, 2003 to 2008) saw the state BJP ranks being filled with her supporters. Just ahead of both the elections, then incumbent BJP chiefs — Bhanwar Lal Sharma and Arun Chaturvedi — were replaced with Raje, who went on to lead the party to victory, consequently becoming the CM. Whether this would repeat itself in 2023 needs to be seen, with Poonia modelling himself as a staunch Raje detractor, while also enjoying the support of the party central leadership in Delhi.

In fact, Poonia who was the state general secretary of the BJP for 10 years between 2004-2014, was also removed from the post during Raje’s second term. He had little influence in the party, which was then headed by staunch Raje loyalist Ashok Parnami, who held the post till 2018.

The following state BJP president, Madan Lal Saini, was a compromise between Raje and the central leadership, whose choice was Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Poonia first got the chance to prove his mettle after Raje’s government was voted out of power in 2018 and Saini passed away in June 2019.

Unlike Raje, who comes from a political family with mother Vijayaraje Scindia being one of the founding members of the BJP, Poonia rose through the ranks. Belonging to Churu district, he joined the ABVP in 1982, learnt the ropes in the RSS student wing, then the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, before joining the party. He is currently serving his first term as MLA, from Amber.

Within a year of his appointment as state BJP president, Poonia, who comes from the electorally powerful Jat community, made a move directly aimed at the Raje camp. He appointed veteran BJP leader Madan Dilawar – who was sidelined for years owing to differences with Raje – as the state general secretary.

Other Raje detractors such as MP Diya Kumari were also given plum posts within the organisation, a move that was unthinkable under Raje’s iron grip on party politics. Last year, he expelled Raje loyalist leader Rohitash Kumar from the party for indiscipline.

Poonia’s repeated public assertions that the central leadership will have the last word on the CM candidate – as against hers – has also not gone down well with Raje’s supporters.

In turn, in the last three years, Raje has absented herself from most of the party meetings chaired by Poonia. Her loyalists also targeted the Poonia-led state leadership over the BJP’s poor show in the bypolls in the 2019, when the party could win only one out of seven seats.

In a veiled attack earlier this year, Poonia suggested that politicians should have a retirement age of 70. Raje, who is 69, would be 70 by the time the next Assembly elections are held in December 2023.

Apart from Poonia and Raje, there are other rival leaders too who are seen to be in contention, including Shekhawat, Union Minister Kailash Choudhary, and Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria.

For now, the BJP central leadership has asked the warring factions to present a united front. Recently, Home Minister Amit Shah applauded the leaders and heaped praises on Raje, Poonia and Shekhawat at an event in Jodhpur.

BJP leaders in Rajasthan also speculate that other leaders such as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav, who are close to the BJP central leadership, might throw their hat in the ring too.

In terms of experience in the legislature, most of these leaders outdo Poonia, who could win an Assembly election only in 2018 after unsuccessfully contesting a few times.

Sources close to Poonia say that he is hoping that the BJP will choose a CM candidate who may not be the most well-known or experienced, but will serve as a dedicated lieutenant of the central leadership without any scope of friction, “like it did in Uttarakhand and Gujarat”.