JAIPUR: Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje filed her nomination from the Jhalrapatan assembly seat on Saturday. Addressing the media, Raje also categorically denied any plans of retiring. This came after she had created a flutter on Friday by hinting at retirement.
Raje explained that her remarks on Friday after her son Dushyant Singh's speech at a BJP workers conference were made as a mother and had no political connotation. She stated that she was impressed with Dushyant's strong connection with the public and remarked, "I am very pleased to witness Dushyant's strong rapport with the people. As for retirement, I want to clarify that I have no intention of leaving Rajasthan. I have deep family ties with Jhalawar." During this interaction, Raje launched an attack on the Congress government, accusing them of only distributing sops. She confidently predicted that the BJP would come to power in the near future.
On Friday, during a workers conference held in Jhalawar, Dushyant Singh, Member of Parliament and Raje's son, fervently criticized the Gehlot government, alleging obstruction of development works in Jhalawar. Raje, who was present on the stage, expressed her elation upon hearing her son's speech. Praising Dushyant and the current BJP MLAs, Raje had remarked, "Listening to my son Dushyant Singh, now I feel that I should retire. Your love and affection has made him mature. Now I don't need to interfere." After this statement, there was a buzz in political circles about her retirement.
Notably, this marks the first time in the last four elections that the BJP high command has chosen not to declare Raje as the chief ministerial candidate. This time, the BJP is following a strategy focused on projecting PM Modi in Rajasthan. However, the party high command hasn't received the response it anticipated from this strategy, leading to confusion among party workers and candidates due to the lack of a clear CM candidate. Thus far, the BJP has released four candidate lists for the Rajasthan elections, comprising 41 candidates in the first list, 83 in the second, 58 in the third, and 2 in the fourth, totaling 184 candidates.
Although Raje's influence is evident in the candidate lists, particularly after the first one, it is believed that if the BJP doesn't secure a significant majority in this election, she could be considered for the role of Chief Minister. Time will reveal the high command's choice for Chief Minister should the party secure the necessary majority.
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