Rajasthan Elections: The 4 Ways BJP Lost the Desert State

Unfulfilled promises, anti-incumbency, neglected voter groups and intra party rifts - all factors that contributed to BJP's defeat in Rajasthan, a state that has anyway followed a trend of voting out the incumbent every consecutive Assembly election since 1998.

Even as the Congress continues to debate between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot for the chief minister’s post, anger against the incumbent chief minister Vasundhara Raje has now translated into a loss of seats for the BJP which had come to power in 2013 with a thumping majority.

After today's results, one can safely assert that the saffron party's loss in the recently held by-polls in Alwar, Ajmer and Mandalgarh was indeed a preview of the party's precarious position in the state.

So, why did the BJP's future in the desert state crumble over the last 5 years.

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Unemployment

With BJP’s 2013 manifesto promise of 15 lakh jobs for the youth remaining unfulfilled, the disillusionment among the youth seemed palpable. This was accompanied by a series of allegations pointing at loopholes in the state's actual employment generation.

Failure in Tackling Agrarian Crisis

Congress' hopes of winning Rajasthan due to the BJP's failure in helping the state's distressed farmers have finally borne fruit. The disillusionment among farmers, evident in massive rallies, and reports of farmers suicides under the burden of agrarian crisis have all factored against the BJP.

Rise in Hate Crimes

BJP's popularity seemed to be waning with the rise of hate crimes in the state. Be it the lynchings of Pehlu Khan and Rakbar Khan in Alwar, the Dalit killings in Dangawas, or the brutal killing of Afrazul Khan in Rajsamund, Rajasthan has been rocked by violence which resulted in polarisation among voters.

Caste Factor

The Rajputs and the Gujjars have traditionally voted for the saffron party but, in recent times, have been vocal in their unhappiness with the BJP. NO surprise then, that the BJP has been voted out of power in a state where caste politics has always played an important role.

While the Rajputs were unhappy with the Raje government for its opposition to their appointment of Gajendra Singh Sekhawat and the handling of the film Padmavat, Gujjars felt Vasundhara Raje was a threat to one of their leaders, Sachin Pilot, in becoming the CM.

Although the chances of BJP retaining the 25 Lok Sabha seats it remarkably won in 2014 appear slim in the 2019 elections, what must be noted is that the BJP's loss in Rajasthan's Assembly Elections may not act as a precursor to the next Lok Sabha elections. This sentiment is evident in one of the most popular slogans that reverberated across the desert state, "Modi tujshe bair nehi, Rani teri khair nehi” (No enmity with Modi, no respite for Vasundhara)