The BJP announced its second list of 83 more candidates for Rajasthan election 2023 on Saturday, coinciding with Maha Saptami, the seventh day of Navratri. Ending speculation around Vasundhara Raje’s candidature, the saffron party fielded the erstwhile royal from the Jhalrapatan seat.
The party had previously announced candidates to 41 seats in the first Rajasthan list. While the inclusion of seven MPs, including a Rajya Sabha member, was the main talking point of the first list, the second one delivers a wider political message.
Here are five takeaways from BJP’s second list of candidates for Rajasthan elections:
Vasundhara Named, Finally
Speculation may have suggested attempts to sideline Vasundhara Raje, but the former chief minister remains the BJP’s most formidable leader in the desert state. The fact that her name didn’t figure in the first list gave rise to murmurs on whether the BJP would field her at all. Amid her studied silence on the buzz, all eyes were on the second list.
However, ending a long spell of speculation, the BJP has fielded her from Jhalrapatan. The fact that the party hasn’t changed her seat shows she still holds sway within the saffron leadership. This is the constituency from where she won in the 2018 Assembly elections for the fifth consecutive term. She had won by a margin of 34,890 votes, defeating Congress candidate Manvendra Singh.
LoP’s Traditional Seat Changed
Besides the former chief minister, the two most important leaders for any party in Opposition are the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and the state unit president. Surprisingly, the BJP has changed the traditional seat of its LoP Rajendra Singh Rathore.
Rathore, currently MLA from Churu, is now being fielded from Taranagar constituency. He has previously represented Taranagar only once – from 2008 to 2013. Rathore had won three consecutive terms from Churu before that. In total, he has represented Churu five times.
It is unclear whether the party sensed anti-incumbency and changed his seat. But the fact that he remains a Raje loyalist begs the questions whether there was a subtle political message for the former Rajasthan CM.
Question of Diya Kumari Settled
When Rajasmand MP Diya Kumari was asked to contest the upcoming Assembly election, she was asked to fight from Jaipur’s Vidhayadhar Nagar constituency, a seat currently occupied by Narpat Singh Rajvi, who is perceived to be a staunch Vasundhara Raje loyalist. He is also the son-in-law of Bhairon Singh Ji Shekhawat, who in turn was instrumental in making Raje the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
Rajvi was said to be unhappy at having to give up his seat. Speaking to News18 earlier, Diya Kumari had said: “I am convinced of his support. We all follow the decisions taken by the BJP leadership. I am sure that I will get full support and blessings from him.”
Leaving nothing to chance, Rajvi, a five-time MLA, has been placated with his name finding a place in the BJP’s second list from Chittorgarh.
Jat Votes and Message to Hoodas
Former Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha, who joined the saffron fold this September, is being fielded from Nagaur. The former parliamentarian belongs to one of the two influential Mirdha clans in the region. She also belongs to the Jat community, a segment that has been disenchanted with the BJP ever since the Jat riots in Haryana in 2016 and more recently the three farm laws that were eventually withdrawn by the Centre after year-long farmer protests. The BJP hopes to reach out to the Jat votes in the region with Mirdha.
She is married to Narendra Gehlaut, a businessman with ties to the BJP. Her sister Shweta is married to Deepender Hooda, the son of former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The BJP is also trying to warm up for Haryana elections slated next year.
10 Women Fielded, Sitting MLAs Dropped
The BJP has fielded 10 women among the 83 names, making it little above 12% of the second list. Even in its first list of 41 names, the BJP had fielded only four women.
Asked why the BJP did not field more women candidates as was expected after the passage of the women’s reservation bill in Parliament, a BJP functionary said it would be reflected in the list of Lok Sabha candidates. The functionary also stressed that ‘winnability’ will continue to remain the main criterion.
Meanwhile, a few sitting MLAs were dropped in the second list. Narpat Singh Rajvi may have been placated with Chittorgarh, but its sitting MLA Chandra Bhan Singh is yet to get a seat. In 2018, he defeated Congress’ Surendra Singh Jadawat with more than 23,000 votes. Singh has been reportedly sulking for months now.
Sanganer’s sitting MLA Ashok Lahoty — who defeated Congress’s Puspendra Bhardwaj with more than 34,000 votes in 2018 — has also been dropped as of now. All eyes are now on the candidates list for remaining 76 seats.
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