Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia continues to push ahead by pitching herself as the only popular face in the poll-bound state despite the BJP deciding not to project any chief ministerial candidate and both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah cold-shouldering the old guard.
"Just a day before yesterday I was on a tour of Barmer-Jaisalmer and even today the people of Malani and the public representatives have shown the same kind of affection, respect and hospitality towards me," Vasundhara posted on X with pictures of herself surrounded by crowds, hours after appearing to have been snubbed on Modi's stage at a rally in Jodhpur.
"To be honest, your blessings are my treasure and to get that I have dedicated my life," added the post, which was read in political circles as a message of Vasundhara's resolve to assert her candidature.
The Prime Minister was in Jodhpur on Thursday to inaugurate and lay foundation stones of development projects and address a political rally, aimed to prepare the ground for the Assembly polls later this year.
Vasundhara was given a place on the stage but not an opportunity to address the crowd. She was seen seated beside Modi, but no other signal of prominence was spotted. The body language appeared cold with no exchange of words or gestures seen between Modi and Vasundhara.
"Modiji completely ignored Maharani (Vasundhara). At the end of the speech, she stood in front of Modiji along with other leaders, but the Prime Minister didn't even acknowledge her presence," a BJP leader said. Vasundhara is popularly referred to as "Maharani" as she hails from the Scindia royal family and is married into the Dholpur royal family.
Earlier this month, home minister Shah had appeared to look the other way when Vasundhara greeted him at the airport.
Despite such visible efforts by the top leadership to end her dominance in the Rajasthan BJP and install a next-generation leader, Vasundhara seems to be showing no signs of relenting.
She has been travelling across the state meeting voters, visiting temples and taking the blessings of prominent Hindu religious leaders. She posts pictures swarmed by people to underline her popularity and in the process is seen to be asserting that she remains the tallest mass leader of the BJP in Rajasthan whom the party can't afford to ignore.
All her visits and campaign events across the state are mostly a solo affair with none of the key state BJP leaders and office-bearers involved. Her posts on X welcoming Modi, Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda to Rajasthan, too, don't have pictures of any state leaders.
"There is no doubt that she is still the most popular face of the party in Rajasthan. But the leadership wants to promote the next generation of leaders without sidelining Vasundharaji," a Rajasthan BJP MP said. "She can be accommodated in the central government."
But Vasundhara doesn't appear to be ready to move out of the state, sources close to her said.
Two-time chief minister Vasundhara has dominated the Rajasthan BJP for over two decades, just like Shivraj Singh Chouhan in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. During her era, no other leader with a pan-Rajasthan ring like her has come up.
For both election-bound Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the central leadership has decided not to project any chief ministerial face. Modi and the party's election symbol, the lotus, are being highlighted as the overarching mascot, while the term "collective leadership" is being given preeminence at the state level. The aim is to edge out leaders like Vasundhara and push the next generation after the elections, sources in the party said.
"The only face in this election will be the lotus. The only candidate will be the lotus," Modi told a rally in Rajasthan recently, at a time sections within the party fear that sidelining Vasundhara could cost the BJP dearly in the election.
