In the view of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, the BJP has once again expanded its circle of candidates. Just before the release of the second candidate list at the BJP’s central headquarters in New Delhi, Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, from the former royal family of Mewar in Udaipur, and a prominent leader of the Rajput community Lokendra Singh Kalvi’s son Bhawani Singh Kalvi, both have joined the BJP. Although the BJP consistently states that these leaders are joining the party without any preconditions, sources indicate that both Vishwaraj Singh and Bhawani Singh Kalvi will contest in the assembly elections.
The BJP can make Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, its candidate from Nathdwara, in front of Assembly Speaker CP Joshi. The name of Vishwaraj Singh is also being discussed for the Udaipur city assembly seat. On the other hand, Bhawani Singh Kalvi is said to be in the running for the Degana assembly seat in Nagaur district, as he has been quite active in the Degana region for some time. In the previous state election, Degana was won by Vijaypal Mirdha, the son of a prominent Congress leader Richpal Mirdha.
BJP’s strategy to challenge CP Joshi
The BJP is formulating a strategy to challenge prominent Congress leaders in their respective constituencies by fielding stronger candidates there. This strategy aims to ensure that these leaders focus more on retaining their own seats rather than campaigning in other assembly seats. This approach will likely also impact the Congress party’s election campaigning. In line with this strategy, the Bharatiya Janata Party is actively working on these plans.
Strengthening the situation in Nagaur
Bhawani Singh Kalvi is a former polo player and the grandson of former Minister Kalyan Singh Kalvi. His father, Lokendra Singh Kalvi, founded the Karni Sena. Some time ago, Lokendra Singh Kalvi passed away. In the previous elections, the BJP had a weak presence in Nagaur. The Rajput vote bank in Degana is significant. Given this, the party may field Bhawani Singh Kalvi as a candidate in the next election. In the last election, BJP’s Ajay Singh Kilak lost to Congress’ Vijaypal Mirdha by 21,000 votes.
CP Joshi has won the Nathdwara seat five times
On the other hand, the current Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, CP Joshi, has won the Nathdwara seat five times as a candidate. In most of these elections, the BJP has fielded candidates from the Rajput community against him. Since becoming Speaker, CP Joshi has undertaken various development projects in his constituency. Under these circumstances, the BJP is thinking of fielding a strong face of the Rajput community against him. The former Royal family of Mewar still has a strong presence in the region, so it is possible that the BJP may field Vishwaraj Singh Mewar against CP Joshi in Nathdwara. Additionally, the Udaipur city seat will also likely need a strong BJP candidate after Gulab Chand Kataria became the state governor. If the BJP doesn’t field Vishwaraj Singh from Nathdwara, there is a possibility they might offer him the Udaipur city seat.
Vishwaraj and Kalvi meet Nadda
After joining the party, Vishwaraj Singh Mewar and Bhawani Singh Kalvi reached the residence of BJP’s National President JP Nadda. There, Nadda congratulated both of them and adorned them with a BJP scarf. During this occasion, the party’s State President CP Joshi, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, State In-charge Arun Singh, Opposition Leader Rajendra Rathore, and Member of Parliament Diya Kumari were also present.