In Rajasthan, The BJP is Banking On Modi

The sands are running out for Raje, but the BJP is pinning its hopes on Modi to turn the tide

- Pratul Sharma

On November 15, Gyan Dev Ahuja walked into the Rajasthan BJP headquarters in Jaipur along with a few men. Missing was the usual twirl in his distinctive handlebar moustache, and the clamour of party men to greet him. The previous day the BJP had denied Ahuja, the legislator from Ramgarh constituency in Alwar district, a ticket for the assembly elections. And the hindutva stalwart did not take it well. “I have come here to meet party leaders, and will later reveal my plan of action,” he said.

In the keenly contested Rajasthan elections, the BJP dropped a hint or two about its strategy when not a single Muslim candidate figured in its first four lists. In 2013, the party had fielded four Muslims. Two of them won and one, Yunus Khan, became a minister. This time, many political observers said, the BJP was keen on playing the hindutva card like it successfully did in Uttar Pradesh.

But the denial of tickets to Ahuja and Banwari Lal Singhal, another hindutva proponent and legislator from Alwar Urban, has caused some confusion. A source in the party said that it could be on Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s insistence that they were dropped as both had been critical of her.

Ahuja went on to file his nomination as an independent candidate, vowing to fight for the cause of hindutva and cows. But, a few days later, BJP president Amit Shah convinced him to withdraw it, promising a key role if the party wins. State BJP chief Madan Lal Saini, who has been tasked with dealing with the rebels, said he was listening to everybody: “After all, in a democracy, everyone has a right to express. Tickets are not decided by the sangh, but by the party’s parliamentary board.”