Home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda on Wednesday night held a long strategy session with leaders from poll-bound Rajasthan, seen as a move to use the “collective leadership” card to edge out yet another pre-Modi-era stalwart, Vasundhara Raje Scindia

The central leadership, by nominating Union ministers and MPs to contest the Madhya Pradesh elections, seems to have already set in motion the process of marginalising four-term chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh go to polls together later this year.

Both Vasundhara and Shivraj have dominated the BJP in their respective states for over two decades, but the current leadership now looks determined to edge them out and promote a new lot.

This was apparent in the body language of Shah when he was greeted by Vasundhara at Jaipur airport on Wednesday. Former chief minister Vasundhara had lined up along with other leaders to welcome Shah and Nadda at the airport. In videos put
out by news agencies, Vasundhara is seen trying to greet Shah with a flower. The home minister takes the flower from her while looking the other way.

BJP leaders said that at the strategy meeting that went on till the early hours of Thursday, it was decided that no one would be projected as the chief ministerial face and the party would go for “collective leadership”.

“The central leaders made it clear that all the state leaders have to join hands and work together to make the party victorious, and the chief minister will be decided after the results,” a leader said.

Like Madhya Pradesh, the central leadership hinted that some Union ministers and MPs from Rajasthan could also be asked to contest the Assembly polls. The names of Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, seen as a favourite of Shah for the chief minister’s post, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Lok Sabha member Diya Kumari, seen by many as the right choice to counter Vasundhara, are doing the rounds.

“The BJP is confident about Rajasthan. Under the leadership of Modiji, a double-engine government is set to be formed in the state,” Shekhawat, who participated in the meeting, posted on X.

While “collective leadership” is being cited as a means to tackle factional rivalry in the state units, it is being seen as a larger strategy to end the dominance of leaders like Vasundhara and Shivraj, who have a strong mass base in their respective states.

Party insiders, however, said the leadership was not trying to completely sideline Vasundhara and had assured her a prominent role in the selection of candidates and also in leading the election campaign.

The central leadership can’t afford to ignore or annoy her as in the current Assembly, the majority of the MLAs are known to be loyal to her. “For Vasundharaji, the battle will begin post-poll. She has to get most MLAs to back her for the CM’s post and defeat the central leadership’s plan to get her out,” a leader loyal to her said.