The BJP is unlikely to present a Chief Ministerial face in poll-bound Rajasthan and is expected to tell all the aspirants to work for the party organisation to ensure a massive victory over the ruling Congress in the State.
A senior BJP leader said party chief J P Nadda is scheduled to travel to Jaipur on Saturday to take stock of the preparations for the year-end assembly elections which are expected to see a keen contest between the ruling Congress and an upbeat BJP.
Nadda will chair a meeting of the Rajasthan BJP’s core committee to chalk out the strategy for the elections and is expected to tell the Chief Ministerial aspirants to work for the organisation.
A recent opinion poll projected former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as the most popular face of the saffron party in the desert State, followed by Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat who is a distant second.
The 70-year-old Raje, a five-term Lok Sabha member and two-term Chief Minister, is considered an aspirant for the top post and a section of BJP leaders have been demanding that she be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate.
Raje is also considered to have an uneasy relationship with the BJP's national leadership, particularly after she lost the assembly elections in 2018 to the Congress.
However, the central leadership is learnt to be keen to project a younger leadership in the State, which has created unease amongst her supporters.
"No decision has been made on declaring a Chief Ministerial face in Rajasthan," a senior BJP leader said.
Nadda is expected to discuss formation of election-related committees in Rajasthan with the State leaders of the party, the leader said, adding that the organisational committees will be announced soon.
"A much clearer picture will emerge within the next 10 days," the leader said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the BJP’s election slogan "Nahi Sahega Rajasthan" (Rajasthan will not tolerate anymore), clearly targeting the incumbent Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot.
