Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda's Strategic Meeting Signals Shift in Rajasthan BJP Leadership

Amit Shah, the home minister, and J.P. Nadda, the president of the BJP, met for a lengthy strategy session with Rajasthani leaders on Wednesday night. This was perceived as an attempt to employ the "collective leadership" technique to unseat Vasundhara Raje Scindia, yet another pre-Modi stalwart.

The federal leadership appears to have already started the process of marginalizing four-term chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan by nominating Union ministers and MPs to run in the Madhya Pradesh polls. Later this year, elections are held jointly in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Vasundhara and Shivraj have each led the BJP for more than 20 years in their respective states, but the current leadership appears ready to unseat them and elevate a fresh group.

Shah's body language during Vasundhara's Wednesday welcome at the Jaipur airport made this clear. Along with other leaders, former chief minister Vasundhara had gathered in a line to greet Shah and Nadda at the airport. Vasundhara can be seen in videos released by news organizations attempting to welcome Shah with a flower. The home minister ignores her and takes the flower from her.

BJP leaders said that no one will be projected as the chief minister's face and the party would instead opt for "collective leadership" at the strategy meeting that lasted into the early hours of Thursday.

The chief minister would be chosen after the results, according to a leader. "The central leaders made it clear that all the state leaders have to join forces and work together to make the party victorious," the leader added.

The federal leadership made similar suggestions to Madhya Pradesh, suggesting that some Union ministers and MPs from Rajasthan should also be asked to run in the Assembly elections. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, a Jal Shakti minister who is viewed as Shah's favorite for the position of chief minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, a law minister, and Diya Kumari, a Lok Sabha member who is widely regarded as the best choice to oppose Vasundhara, are the names that are now making the rounds.

"The BJP has faith in Rajasthan. A double-engine government is going to be established in the state under Modiji's guidance, Shekhawat, who attended the meeting, wrote on X.

While "collective leadership" is stated as a way to combat factional strife in the state units, it is also perceived as a bigger plan to challenge the supremacy of leaders with substantial mass followings in their individual states, like Vasundhara and Shivraj.

However, according to party insiders, the leadership was not attempting to fully marginalize Vasundhara and had promised her a significant position in the choice of candidates as well as in the direction of the election campaign.

The bulk of the MLAs in the present Assembly are known to be loyal to her, thus the central leadership cannot afford to ignore or irritate her. "For Vasundharaji, the conflict will start after the election. She needs to convince the majority of MLAs to support her for the position of CM and thwart the central leadership's attempt to remove her, according to a supporter.