Last Updated: November 23, 2023, 13:09 IST
Vasundhara Raje has not given any media interviews this time. She has campaigned and attended a rally with PM Narendra Modi. But why BJP has not chosen to declare her the CM face. (Photo: News18)
Vasundhara Raje is in Phulera to campaign for her loyalist and three-time MLA Nirmal Kumawat, who said she is a tall leader, and the BJP leadership will decide who will be the CM candidate
“Jis par humein abhimaan hai, nirmal jiska mann hai, chavi mahaan hai, aandhi jise nahi udaya, pani na jise dubaaye, woh hai Vasundhara. Hum sab chahe Vasundhara. Phir chahen Vasundhara” — so blares a campaign song at Phulera in Rajasthan before former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje came to address a rally on Wednesday.
The campaign will end today ahead of polling on Saturday but Raje has not given any media interviews this poll season. She has campaigned across the state and also attended a rally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jhalawar-Baran on Tuesday. But the issue hovers why BJP has not chosen to declare her as the CM face. Though the public at Phulera said they want Raje again, the million-dollar question is if the BJP wants her again as CM if it wins.
“Why do you have a doubt that she will not be CM again? 60 candidates fighting in the elections are her choices. These 60 tickets have been given as per her wishes. So, it is clear who will be the CM with support of majority of MLAs,” say a group of elderly men who are rooting for Raje in Phulera.
Raje is in Phulera to campaign for her loyalist and three-time MLA from Phulera, Nirmal Kumawat. “Raje is a very popular leader, her stature is very high and she is also BJP’s national vice-president, I wanted her rally in my constituency. Who will be CM, our leadership will decide later,” Kumawat told News18.
Some others, however, say the vote is for Modi and not any CM face. “Modi will decide the CM. Vasundhara Raje is our leader, her popularity is as high when she was the CM. We are with her. We are with any face Modi decides, but we are with Raje also. We have to vote for Kamal, we back Ram Mandir. We have to defeat the Congress — that is the top priority,” a group of women said.
Another group of women, however, quickly added that Raje should be made the CM as she is a woman and best understands the concerns of their lot. “We want a woman CM. Congress under Ashok Gehlot did nothing. If Raje comes as the CM, it will be good,” they added.
Vasundhara Raje’s Crowd Connect
She gives a rousing address, highlighting her record as the chief minister and what she did for the people. “I went to so many regions and met so many candidates in the campaign. Congress MLAs did rampant corruption, took money for transfers. You know it all,” Raje tells the big crowd listening to her. She has the crowd in splits when she points out how the CM is giving one guarantee after the other without thinking why he did not fulfil his earlier promises.
“When one CM starts a work, it is important for the next government to continue it and take care of it, otherwise it is a sin. They (Congress) made a lot of promises. First is free electricity. But here we have generator running at my rally. It is night now so I have to drive back to Jaipur rather than use the chopper. The locals were telling me that I will realise how bad the roads are,” Raje says.
Raje also indirectly pitches her case for the top chair in the state if the BJP wins. “We got 73 seats in the last elections too. Some had said we won’t get even 30 seats. But I knew we had done work. What has happened now — 19 paper leaks. The youth have cursed this government,” Raje tells the crowd. She says the state’s name has been sullied by the crimes against women. “This was a state where men laid their lives for the honour of women,” Raje said.
She only smiled when News18 tried to ask her to respond to some of our questions. It seems Raje would now only speak after December 3. Will the Rani be the CM of Rajasthan again? No one in the BJP is willing to take a bet.
