Rajasthan election results: Vasundhara Raje's got her groove back

The next chief minister of Rajasthan has many names. Close friends and Delhi socialites call her Vasu. For those who report to her, including her servile personal staff and some diffident politicians, she is Maharani Sahab or Hukum. The man on the street and bureaucrats both call her Madam, the first out of love and the second for decorum. For the rest she is Vasundhara Raje.   In case you missed it, Scindia, the surname that was her initial claim to fame, is never used, not even when she signs her own name. This deliberate omission of the most-famous surname in the BJP’s history isn’t just name-dropping in reverse. It is a subtle act that defines Raje’s politics of emotion, castes and personal bonds. It is her secret to success. By confining her surname to history books and family albums, Raje delinked herself from Gwalior, trashed the outsider tag, established herself as a Rajasthani bahu and, most importantly, swung the caste equations in her favour. [caption id=“attachment_127396” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI[/caption] Unlike other politicians, like a Mali Ashok Gehlot or a Meena Kirori Lal, Raje represents an umbrella of castes traditionally inimical to each other. She is a Maratha royal, a fact that makes Rajputs stake claim to her; she is a Jat by virtue of her marriage; a Gurjar mother-in-law and also has links to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Her bloodline is her biggest asset. And since it doesn’t reflect in her surname, Madam, as the man on the street says, belongs to everybody. In this election, her ability to unify a divisive society automatically made her the frontrunner as a mass leader. It gave her a huge advantage over others like Gehlot and Meena with limited appeal. No wonder, she has emerged the undisputed choice of undivided Rajasthan. Why Raje should send Gehlot a bouquet The election in Rajasthan wasn’t just a contest between the Congress and the BJP. It was a fight between two leaders who could have been from entirely different planets, and not just because Gehlot is supposed to be from Mars and Raje from Venus. In terms of style, substance, temperament, technique, history and geography, both the CM aspirants were not just different persons. They were two different species. Theirs was a clash of differing styles of politics and brands of administration. Raje represented the urban, suave, liberal face of the state. Gehlot portrayed its backward, Bimaru, conservative side. Gehlot’s politics and personality were rooted in the belief that he is the messiah of the backward and the poor; Raje was a symbol of prosperity and development. The contrast with Gehlot, who was seen as regressive and listless, helped her significantly. The poor alternative added to Raje’s appeal. The results, interestingly, are almost in direct proportion to the popularity ratings of the two candidates. Gehlot, as survey after survey showed, was not half as popular as Raje. He isn’t getting half her seats. Future challenges Vasundhara Raje’s USP is her call for treating the “36 communities of Rajasthan as her parivar.” Ironically, the effect on the Saffron Parivar has been the opposite. Within the party, she is seen as a tenacious, strong-willed soloist whose style and persona mobilizes the cadres, charms the electorate but divides the leadership. This is where her similarities with Narendra Modi begin. Just like Modi’s, Raje’s career path is strewn with remains of many senior leaders. Many of her former colleagues are her closet enemies. Even in 2013, senior leaders like OP Mathur, Ramdas Agarwal and LK Chaturvedi worked on their agenda on the sideline. Incidentally, Kirori Meena, whose NPP gave a tough time to both the Congress and the BJP in some districts, is a product of personal animus between him and Raje. The only heavyweight by her side in this election was Gulab Chand Kataria. But the bon homie was the result of a truce brokered by the high command after a public battle that brought the BJP almost to a brink of division. Raje’s traits are her biggest allies; they could also be her enemies. Like a true royal, Raje is liberal, dynamic and large-hearted. She trusts people quickly, forgives enemies easily and rewards loyalty disproportionately over ability. But she is also impatient and imperious. Those within her inner circle often complain that they are required to prove their loyalty far too often. This is one reason that gives rise to the popular belief that nobody can remain close to her for too long, a dogma that is proven by the history of recurrent churn in her core group. In the run-up to the election, Raje exhibited a remarkable ability to concede ground and compromise with her rivals. Ticket-distribution—the litmus test of a party’s unity—was characterized by unity of choice of intent. If the Congress was at war during the ticketing process, for the BJP it was almost a picnic. This shows Raje is willing to learn from her past for the benefit of her future. But her rivals should not be underestimated. There are too many of them, some swirling like snakes and rats in dark corners and some prowling like foxes and hyenas in the open. Her rivals have many fatal flaws. They are egoistic, burn with professional envy, have unbridled ambition and scheme continuously. The dual combination of unrequited aspirations and suspect ability has brought them to the brink of frustration. They are unlikely to let Raje live in peace. Raje has Rajasthan on her side. How long she is able to keep her enemies at bay would decide her longevity and legacy in the second innings.