Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje is due for an upcoming test in 2018 and while some may consider the elections far away, but this leader from Rajasthan has already set forth into motion plans on a war footing.
Vasundhara Raje’s test is far from simple as the elections are in a state where no CM has been re-elected for a second term since 1993. So are the odds really against her? Not quite.
She for one stands the strongest chance as an experienced commander of her forces with the opposition in a state of complete disarray and a young opposition leader (who had lost his own seat in 2013) with not a lot of experience as the prime opponent. She has an excellent opportunity to make her mark in the history of the state.
Vasundhara Raje is a tough manager and she prefers to be apprised periodically with workers to ensure that the projects are progressing as planned. But there has been some communication gap, the general feeling is that ministers are relaxed and inactive and hoping to cash in on the Modi-Shah juggernaut yet again. Ex-CM Gehlot had faced several administrative problems in the past which ultimately lead to his loss in the last elections and of course the same Congress style of governance was to blame with last moment freebies, favoritism and corruption. This should serve as an important reminder to Vasundhara Raje. For the same reason, probably Raje has been seen holding rallies frequently to connect with the people of the state. While she continues to garner crowds, one can always wonder whether these crowds will translate into votes for the party.
Vasundhara Raje is famous for not being very active on social media unlike a lot of Chief Ministers despite the presence of a large support base online. However, She prefers to speak through her actions as seen with the recent civic drives in Jaipur city.
In the past it has been whispered behind doors that all is not well between the top brass of BJP, RSS and her, rumor mills also suggested that she may be replaced. But Amit Shah made it very clear that Raje will complete her full term as the CM of the state thereby putting all speculations to rest.
Vasundhara Raje’s grassroot level development work has been phenomenl. The “Gaurav Path” project which aims to connect villages is a major success. With the Centre acting in tandem, the road construction is at an all time high in the state thereby easing the problems of connectivity much to the joy of people and traders. Her dedication towards women upliftment and empowerment has been widely appaluded. With the introduction of “Rajshree Yojana” which provides money to the women of the house, the emphasis is directly placed on women of the house thus putting a lot of impetus on girl child’s health, education and overall well-being. The impact has been tremendous and it reflects in the form of improvement in the male-female sex ratio and improvement in literacy rate.
Another Vasudhara Raje project that deserves attention is the Bhamashah Yojana which works in sync with the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Through this scheme there is direct transfer of benefits to the woman card holder.
But not everything is rosy, infighting is definitely a problem for BJP and the Congress would be looking to capitalise on it. The lone battle from inside BJP is led by Ghanshyam Tiwari who continues to level allegations against his own party for which he has been sent several notices too. The rumour in the air is that he might be looking to form a third front. Rajasthan has traditionally oscillated between the two national parties hence the emergence of a possible third front in Rajasthan will have negligible impact.
Business community, the traditional vote bank of BJP is likely to be a difficult group to please. Ther is a lot of resentment amongt them owing to demonetisation and the effects of GST. The “Vyapari varg” have protested against the government in the past with “Hamari bhool Kamal ka phool” slogans. Which way the tide of Business community will swing is difficult to say at present. The “perceived effect” of policies of centre will probably determine outcome of state elections. But GST is a long term plan and effects of it will certainly be visible by early next year so there is a strong possibility that Vyapari Varg may come back to BJP’s fold.
Reservation is one of the most tricky problems in Rajasthan with both Gujjars and Jats demanding reservations at the same time. Congress is likely to try its hand in flaring up of the age old agenda of caste based politics and reservations. Gujjar reservation stir has seen various violent protests in the past while all may seem well under control at present, the demand for reservation is likely to crop up again and might be one tough nut to crack for Vasundhara Raje.
Another likely problem is the division of Rajput votes, a traditional vote bank of BJP which constitutes about 8-10% of the state voters. This has been attributed to the Anandpal encounter which has led to a lot of resentment among the Rajputs.