Never in her wildest of dreams, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje would have seen hard selling herself for the post she had been on twice. But this time Vasundhara, daughter of Vijayraje Scindia, who was the founding member of BJP, had to run pillar from post to claim for the throne she is the natural contender.
Never had she thought that people who have started their political career under her shadow would rise to compete with her one day for the post. And her son who she groomed for succession is not in the line up only.
People are calling names of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Diya Kumari, Om Mathur, Om Birla, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Arjun Ram Meghwal and even Baba Balaknath as her replacement. But not Dushyant Singh, her son who has been member of parliament consecutively for four times from Jhalawar-Baran.
Dushyant Singh, with his experience and lineage, throws good challenge many who are now looked upon for chief minister if the party thinks for a face other than Vasundhara Raje.
Raje went to meet party national president JP Nadda and home minister Amit Shah ahead of the legislative party meeting. Her disciple and follower MLA from Anta Kanwar Lal Meena, back in Jaipur, is openly lobbying for her candidature and giving statements her favour. He has even been accused of confining 5-6 MLAs of Jhalawar-Baran parliament constituency forcibly in resort to play pressure tactics.
“Does Queen V needs such tactics to regain throne? If the answer is Yes then Vasundhara has definitely lost her charm. If the answer is No then let party decide. She should remain silent like her contemporaries Shivraj Singh Chouhan Raman Singh. Party knows the best. By pushing herself hard, Raje will only become politically weak,” said Dharmendra Singh Khangarot, a political analyst and Raje sympathiser.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
