Vasundhara Raje is the cynosure of all eyes at the BJP’s Ajmer rally

Having faced the cold shoulder earlier, the former Rajasthan Chief Minister was seated next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the stage this time

Senior BJP leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vadundhara Raje was the cynosure of all eyes at the party’s massive public rally here on Wednesday. There have been ample hints that she would receive prominence in the campaign for Assembly election due later this year in Rajasthan. Having faced the cold shoulder earlier, Ms. Raje was seated next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the stage this time.

Ms. Raje’s rehabilitation is perceived as one of the after effects of the BJP’s humiliating defeat in Karnataka recently, since the party has been compelled to take into account the clout of its regional satraps. The former CM, who has shown her strength several times during the present Congress regime, remains a popular leader with a mass following in the desert State.

The Opposition BJP gave indications at the rally that it wanted to end factionalism and put up a united face with an important role to be given to Ms. Raje. The posters at the venue depicted pictures of Mr. Modi and BJP national president J.P. Nadda on the one side and those of Ms. Raje, BJP State president C.P. Joshi, and the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Rajendra Rathore on the other.

Ms. Raje’s face had disappeared from the BJP’s hoardings and she has been keeping a distance from the party’s programmes since 2019, when Amber MLA Satish Poonia was appointed the BJP State president. Mr. Poonia was replaced with Chittorgarh MP Mr. Joshi in March this year.

The Prime Minister accepted Ms. Raje’s greetings on the stage with folded hands and talked to her briefly. Ms. Raje smiled and thanked Mr. Modi for selecting Rajasthan for the event to mark the completion of nine years of the BJP government at the Centre. She was also depicted prominently in the publicity material distributed in the city for the rally.

While Ms. Raje has not had comfortable relations with the BJP’s national leadership in New Delhi since the Congress came to power in the State, her supporters have been clamouring for her projection as the chief ministerial face for the 2023 election. The party, which was earlier in favour of going to polls only on Mr. Modi’s name, is likely to reconsider the matter after the drubbing it received in the recently concluded polls in Karnataka.

The BJP has crossed the phase of competition among the senior leaders to show their influence after Mr. Joshi’s appointment as the State unit chief, but it was in a dilemma on the role to be accorded to Ms. Raje. Wednesday’s rally indicated that the former CM would get an important responsibility during the election campaign and would lead from the front in the party’s State affairs afterwards.