The BJP is preparing to wrest power from Congress in the forthcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan. The BJP will rely heavily on Vasundhara Raje, a two-time Chief Minister and one of the party’s tallest leaders in the state.

Here are five points about the senior BJP leader:

Seven MPs have been named in the first list of 41 candidates by BJP for the Rajasthan elections, just hours after the Election Commission announced the poll dates.

Rajasthan goes to polls on November 23. The votes for the 200-seat assembly will be counted on December 3.

The seven MPs and the seats they will contest from are: Diya Kumari (Vidhyadhar Nagar), Bhagirath Choudhary (Kishangarh), Kirodi Lal Meena (Sawai Madhopur), Devji Patel (Sanchore),  Narendra Kumar (Mandawa), Rajyavardhan Rathod (Jhotwara) and Baba Balaknath (Tijara).

The names were finalised at a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) that was chaired by the BJP chief JP Nadda on October 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also attended the meeting.

Notably, the BJP has fielded three Union Ministers – Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste – and four Lok Sabha members as candidates for the Madhya Pradesh polls.

In Rajasthan, which will see a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP – anti-incumbency is an important factor. Since 1993, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.

Laxmangarh (Rajasthan):

After Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot questioned Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over his frequent visits to the poll-bound state, the latter said that it is not right to drag a person holding a constitutional post unnecessarily into politics.

In an apparent reply to the Rajasthan chief minister, Mr Dhankhar said that there must be respect for constitutional positions.

“Some people are saying why are you coming here again and again… I do not expect, people in authority to make statements in light of constitutional positions. This is not good for democracy. There must be respect for constitutional positions and all of us in togetherness, hand in hand, in collaboration and coordination with a consensual approach, have to serve the people at large…” the Vice President said while addressing the students and faculty members of Mody University of Science and Technology in Laxmangarh.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has lashed out at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on several occasions over his frequent visits to the poll-bound state.

However, Mr Dhankhar further said, “It is our country, we all are servants of this country whatever be our position, right from the President down the line up to the chief minister. We must be very sensitive, we should not generate such a public perception that a person holding a constitutional post should be unnecessarily dragged into politics, it is not right.”

Mr Dhankhar also recited a poem written by him, “Khata kya ki humne, pata hi nahi! Aapatti kyo hai unhe hamare ghar aane ki, pata hi nahi! Ye kaisa manzar hai, samjh se pare hai, Sawaliya nishan kyo hai apne ghar aane me, Kya julm hai? Pata hi nahi!”

The poem refers to someone having a problem with him going to their home. 

Addressing a programme in Jaipur, Mr Gehlot had said in September, “The Vice President is doing up-down (between Delhi and Rajasthan). Whether it is the Governor or the Vice President, we respect them… but elections are here.”

“Politicians should come but please do not send the Vice President, it is a Constitutional post. We respect the President and the Vice President. Yesterday the Vice President came and visited five districts. Is there any logic? It is election season. If you come now it will send all kinds of messages which is not good for democracy,” he had said later. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Udaipur:

Slamming the Gehlot government, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the BJP will return to power in Rajasthan with an “overwhelming majority”. 

“It is certain that the people of Rajasthan will vote us to power in the state with an overwhelming majority….we will form double-engine government in Rajasthan and lead it to the path of development,” he said while launching the BJP’s ‘Parivartan Yatra here.

Assembly elections are due in the state later this year.

The ‘Parivartan’ Yatras are scheduled across the state till September 5, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a mega public rally on September 25 in Jaipur.

“In Rajasthan, the government that was formed in the state after the 2018 elections, focussed only on saving seats. In these 4.5 years, you have seen enough internal squabbles within the party whether between the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister or between members within the party….this had an impact on 7 crore 80-90 lakh people of Rajasthan. The people of Rajasthan have to shed tears of blood because of this,” the Union Minister told ANI.

On oppression against women in Rajasthan, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said Rajasthan has become the “rape capital of India.” 

“There is oppression against women continuously. Rajasthan which was the cultural capital of India became the rape capital. The government instead of stopping corruption gave shelter and confidence to those practising corruption in Rajasthan. There have been gang wars in Rajasthan and the government seemed incapable of handling them.”

Launching a sharp attack against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the Pratapgarh incident, the Union Minister said, “The Chief Minister shed responsibility at times by saying that so many incidents have come to light in Rajasthan because so many are being registered. At times he said that the perpetrators of most of these cases are relatives. Cases of atrocities against women, disrespecting women, gang rape have been taking place every day.”

Last week, a tribal woman was allegedly beaten and paraded naked in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh. The incident came to light after a video went viral.

The Jal Shakti Minister further attacked the Congress ministers in Rajasthan for giving insensitive remarks against women.

“The Ministers have broken all shackles of shame by saying that there are so many cases in Rajasthan because it is a state known for its masculinity…this is why people are not scared of the police which leads to such unfortunate incidents,” Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said.

The Union Minister said that the government should find out the root cause behind such incidents and not stay limited to investigating the perpetrators.

“Just investigating the perpetrators is not enough. The government needs to find the root of such incidents and eradicate them. Not only Rajasthan but women from the entire country are filled with shame today,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)