The BJP on Saturday fielded former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia from her sitting Jhalarapatan seat despite not projecting her as the chief ministerial face in a move that is being seen as the balancing of political equations.
Two-term chief minister Vasundhara has dominated the Rajasthan BJP for over two decades but the BJP leadership this time wants to promote the next generation leaders from the state.
However, wary of the electoral damage an angry Vasundhara can inflict, the party leadership seems to have decided not to edge her out in one stroke.
Vasundhara's name figured in the second list of 83 candidates for Rajasthan declared by the BJP on Saturday. She was fielded from her traditional Jhalarapatan seat she has been representing.
The names of many loyalists of Vasundhara also figured in the second list, indicating that the BJP leadership was not willing to take any risks.
Making a U-turn, the BJP also fielded Narpat Singh Rajvi, the son-in-law of late BJP stalwart Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who was denied nomination from his sitting seat in the first list.
Rajvi, who had strongly protested after being dropped, was fielded from Chittorgarh. A rethink on Rajvi, giving him a ticket after first dropping him, too showed the BJP was not willing to take any risks in its bid to oust the Congress from power in Rajasthan.
Vasundhara, who hails from the Scindia royal family of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, is regarded as the most popular face of the BJP in Rajasthan and ignoring her could damage the party's electoral calculations.
At the same time, the BJP leadership has been firm in not projecting her as the chief ministerial face. The concept of "collective leadership" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the top and also the party's mascot in the state polls, is being promoted.
A bunch of Lok Sabha MPs have been fielded to contest the Assembly polls, with some of them being seen as CM aspirants.
"The decision on the chief minister will be taken by the central leadership after the poll results," a BJP leader said.
