Discord in Rajasthan BJP deepens after poor Lok Sabha poll showing

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s loss in 11 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan has widened the internal discord in the state unit and also come to the fore with several leaders questioning the top brass over various decisions and expressing anger over alleged sidelining of key functionaries.

While some functionaries raised questions over the ticket distribution, a few others said lack of leadership and monitoring of party activities were among reasons behind the BJP’s loss in the state.

In the recently-held general elections, the BJP won 14 seats, 10 less than what it secured in 2019. The Congress, which got zero seats in the last elections, managed to notch up eight seats this time. The CPI (M), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Bharat Adivasi Party managed to clinch one seat each. The BJP suffered maximum losses in the northern and eastern parts of the state.

While the state BJP was plagued with factionalism and murmurs of dissent emanated from various quarters in the run-up to the polls, the party’s sharp decline in performance has escalated tensions, leading several leaders to question the functioning of the state unit.

Recently, former Sikar MP Swami Sumedhanand, who lost the elections from Sikar to CPI(M)’s Amraram, alleged that party cadres were unable to disseminate the welfare schemes among the people. He also questioned the ticket distribution and the party’s decision to not field former MP Rahul Kaswan from Churu – an act that functionaries claim was one of the reasons why the party lost its support among the Jat community. Kaswan later joined the Congress and won the polls from the seat.

“It was a wrong decision to not field Kaswan,” Sumedhanand said. “Political rivalry between senior leader and former MLA Rajendra Rathore and Kaswan led to the latter’s ticket being cut, which sent a wrong message and angered the Jats,” he added.

Rathore had lost the assembly elections from Churu last year and had accused Kaswan of sabotage.

“There were other leaders too who were accused of sabotage during the state polls but they were not refused tickets for the Lok Sabha elections,” Sumedhanand said.

Sumedhanand also claimed the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment to the armed forces did not go down well with the voters. Rajasthan is one of the states that is home to several personnel in the armed forces.

“Had the scheme been revised before the elections, it would have had a positive impact. The Congress and the Communist party were able to create a negative sentiment about the recruitment scheme among the youngsters of the state,” he said.

The northern belt or Shekhawati region comprising Jhunjhunu ,Churu and Sikar as well as the neighbouring Nagaur district have a significant presence of Jats, who are mostly engaged in farming. Besides, these regions have a tradition of sending youngsters in large numbers to the armed forces.

Sumedhanand also alleged that senior leader and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who campaigned aggressively for the party during the assembly elections, was sidelined during the Lok Sabha polls. Her conspicuous absence from election campaigning had raised eyebrows.

“She is our senior leader but she did not campaign for the general elections. Had she done that, it would have helped the party,” he said.

A few days ago, senior leader from Bikaner, Devi Singh Bhati had also spoken out against Rathore and said it was because of him that Kaswan did not get a poll ticket.

“Rathore was responsible for the BJP’s loss on several seats. Cutting Kaswan’s ticket led to the Jats uniting against the BJP, which damaged the party,” he said.

He alleged that Rathore interfered with ticket distribution on seats that were eventually lost by the party.

Bhati, who is considered close to Raje, further alleged “bureaucracy was running the government and not listening to the elected representatives”.

Like Sumedhanand, BJP’s Jhunjhunu candidate Shubhkaran Chaudhary acknowledged that the Agnipath scheme had an adverse effect on voters. “So many people from Shekhawati wanted to prepare for the armed forces. But once the scheme was launched, they lost interest. This surely impacted the polls,” Chaudhary, who was defeated by Congress’s Brijendra Singh Ola, said.

A senior leader, who did not wish to be named, alleged there was no one to oversee the election campaign. “The election incharges were appointed late. Most of the core committee members were busy fighting their own election. So there was no one to monitor and coordinate the campaign. Moreover, senior leaders like Raje were sidelined,” the leader said, seeking anonymity.

Amid growing dissent, BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bharadwaj said the party will take action wherever required.

“The BJP reviews its performance after each loss and win. The BJP lost seats in Rajasthan but still got 50% of the vote, which shows we got votes from all communities and castes. We have identified reasons for the loss and the party and government are working at their level to fix things. Action will be taken where necessary,” Bharadwaj said.