THE RETURN OF RAJE

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is such an eni­gma in Rajasthan that any political move she makes is keenly dissected. She has been lying low after being voted out in December 2018, and with the high com­mand rewarding leaders antithetical to her, a perception has gained ground that relations have soured between her and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his deputy Amit Shah.

- Rohit Parihar

February, though, marked the beginnings of a thaw. On February 3, Raje met Shah in Delhi after over two years. And while she remains mum about what transpired at the meet­ ing, insiders say it was quite cordial. The two had been upset with each other in the past—Raje over how Shah, who is far younger and less experienced in politics, had treated her when she was chief minister, and the latter over her ignor­ ing his directives when he was BJP president. The meeting, though, is seen as a fresh start. Insiders say Raje has spoken to Modi too in the past six months. She has been meeting a few other prominent party leaders as well, and even called on J.P. Nadda, the current party president, on February 15. It seems the stage is set for a comeback.

So why is the high command suddenly obliging Raje? Some observers say they are keen to use her in other state elections as there are few women leaders of her stature in the party. There’s also talk that she could be instrumental in getting opposition leaders who are on the fence to cross over, given her personal equation with many of them. That said, there are also Rajasthan­ specific developments that explain why she is active again.

The state has byelections to four assembly seats coming up next month and Raje, sources say, has conveyed to the top leadership her concern that the party may not do well because of the infighting in the state unit. In the two bypolls held in 2019 after the BJP’s clean sweep in the Lok Sabha election, it lost the Mandawa seat it had won earlier, and ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) barely managed to retain Nagaur.