Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considering bringing fresh leadership to Rajasthan so that the state becomes a partner in his mission of ‘Amrit Kaal’. Polling on all the 200 seats will be held on 25 November, and the results will be announced on 3 December. The BJP has issued the first list of 41 candidates which has seven MPs, including Rathore.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, “PM Modi is thinking of bringing fresh leadership in Rajasthan, and that is because Rajasthan has been a backward state for so many years. Rajasthan should become a partner in the Amrit Kaal mission of the prime minister and should lead in that way. Youths here who are capable should move forward with the country. We want that.”
Rathore also reacted to the protest in the constituency in support of former MLA Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, saying, “Maybe someone got an opportunity today and someone else will get it tomorrow.” Shekhawat, considered a close confidant of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, was expecting a ticket from the Jhotwara seat. But when the BJP fielded Rathore from there, his supporters held a demonstration at the party office demanding a ticket to Shekhawat.
Rathore, a former Olympian who joined politics in 2013 after taking retirement from the Indian Army, said he will remain focused on the challenge immediately in front of him and the task given by the party.
“I believe that the BJP is the only party which gives the opportunity to move forward. Maybe someone got an opportunity today and tomorrow someone else will get it. This is possible in the BJP only that a common man gets the opportunity and it is only the BJP where the entire cabinet is removed and the public’s trust is won,” he said.
In an apparent reference to Rajpal Shekhawat, Rathore said, “But if someone becomes over-ambitious like Sachin Pilot (Congress leader who led a rebellion against his own party), he will hit his own foot again and again.”
This will be the first assembly election for Rajyavardhan Rathore, to which he said, “Whatever task is given to me, I complete it with full commitment, discipline and high standards. Everyone knows the standard of my game (shooting). Terrorists used to hesitate to pass from my area (when he served in the army).”
He also targeted the Congress saying that it will face a humiliating defeat in the assembly elections and the BJP will win with a thumping majority. He said, “The BJP will offer good governance, create a safe environment for women and will address the issues of farmers and youths…We have to create such an environment where even if daughters and sisters roam around wearing jewellery at night, no one has the courage to look at them.”
He also said that the Congress government led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot only made announcements, but these did not translate into reality on the ground. The former Indian Army officer said it was the Modi government that fulfilled the demand for one rank one pension.