BJP, Cong in damage control mode to rein in Rajasthan rebels
The BJP, too, is in damage control mode after at least 20 rebel candidates filed their nomination, said party leaders on condition of anonymity. Five ministers and several MLAS have already resigned from the party after being dropped. The ministers who resigned are Surendra Goyal, Rajkumar Rinwa, Dhan Singh Rawat and Hem Singh Bhadana and all of them have filed nominations as independents.
Goyal is contesting from Jaitaran, Rinwa from Ratangarh, Rawat from Banswara and Bhadana from Thanagazi.
Among the prominent MLAS who resigned are Mahua MLA Om Prakash Hudla, Ladpura MLA Bhawani Singh Rajawat, Ramgarh MLA Gyandev Ahuja, Sagwara MLA Anita Katara, Sojat MLA Sanjana Agri, Malpura MLA Alka Singh, Sridungargarh MLA Kishna Ram Nai, Dungarpur MLA Devendra Katara, Ghatol MLA Navneetlal Ninama and Sikrai MLA Geeta Verma.
To manage the dissidence, chief minister Vasundhara Raje has reached out to the rebels and the party appointed a team of leaders to try and placate the rebels. This team comprises state BJP president Madanlal Saini, state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna and other senior leaders. The BJP has dropped four minis- ters, 60 MLAS and introduced 82 new faces in its list.
Officially, both parties denied reports of dissidence. “Party men going rebel is nothing new. It happens in all the parties when an individual is denied a ticket. Similarly, there is an aftermath to pacify them. Some are also assured place in government, once party comes in power,” said a senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
“We have very few rebels in our party. There are only about 15-20 of them who matter. Some have already relented,” senior BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. He did not disclose names of those who have relented.
Congress spokesperson Satyendra Singh Raghav said, “Efforts are being made to pacify rebels by senior leaders and we are hopeful that they will withdraw their nomination in support of party candidate.”
Analyst Narayan Bareth said it was unclear how much damage the rebels would inflict. “What has happened in these elections in ticket distribution has been never seen before – the kind of anarchy, mismanagement and protest are for the first time. Certainly, damage will be there as their image has been dented, rest it has to be seen to what extent they can repair it,” he said. Everywhere we go, we notice that most voters are in favour of our party. The Congress is battling infighting and five of its MLAS have already left the party. Two of them, including former home minister R Lalzirliana, have joined our party. People are deserting the sinking ship and coming to MNF, the only alternative.