BJP loses Rajasthan, but Vasundhara Raje still a factor

New Delhi: Written off by most political pundits as a lost cause ahead of the Assembly polls, Vasundhara Raje-led BJP showed its resilience in Rajasthan. Most analysts and exit polls too had predicted a landslide victory for Congress in the state. However, the BJP’s last minute push through its campaigning, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and Raje, is believed to have improved the party’s performance in the state.

Sources stated that Mr Modi’s 13 rallies across the state and Shah’s reaching out to the cadres helped the party to make up lost grounds in the last few days of campainging. Raje’s appeal amongst the women voters also ensured a better performance for it. Sources pointed out that Mr Shah and Ms Raje reached out to every district of the state in the quest for votes. While the BJP chief was apparently reaching to the angry party cadre in each of the state’s districts, Ms Vasundhara Raje was making a pitch for the common voters.

The party’s strategy to hold wide ranging discussions with the party cadre also seemed to have helped it in ensuring a better performance by the party than was being expected from it.

By visits to the grassroot level, senior party leaders also ensured that they reached out to the upset organisational workers who had seemingly been disenchanted with the Raje regime.

The cadre was clearly told that they need to work for the party’s victory, sources added.

However, the BJP’s hope that internal factionalism — between the Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps — did not reap enough benefits for it and the party lost in the finla race to the finish.  Another factor that the BJP was banking on is the role of minor political players — like Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharat Vahini Party of Ghanshyam Tiwari and few powerful independent candidates — that could eat into the Congress votes, also came a cropper, sources added.