No chief ministerial candidate

Ever since the BJP lost the 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections, the party’s central leadership has been looking for new leaders. However, as the BJP has lost the majority of by-elections since, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, now 70, is making a comeback on the party’s official campaign material. Her participative spirit is evident as she has been holding meetings across the state to keep in touch with the voters. However, Raje has been in a conflict leading to a tussle for power with state BJP president Satish Poonia, but the buzz is that Raje is bracing for a fight to project herself as a CM face for the BJP, whether or not the party’s top leadership likes it. Meanwhile, in all likelihood, the BJP will contest the elections without declaring a chief ministerial candidate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will, as usual, be the prominent face. As the elections are being held along with those in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, a few months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the results will be prominent. And Modi conveys the main message to voters that they will benefit more from a double-engine government.