BJP anti-incumbency fight: Party retains 85 MLAs, mostly Raje's confidantes

Despite the BJP battling anti-incumbency, several of Vasundhara Raje's close confidantes have been retained by the party, leaving the door open for the Congress to swing votes in its favour

Jaipur: Putting to rest speculation about bringing in new faces to fight anti-incumbency, the Bhartiya Janta Party in Rajasthan retained 85 existing MLAs, mostly Vasundhara Raje’s confidantes, in its first list of 131 candidates that was announced late on Sunday night.

The move is being seen as Raje’s attempt to prioritise her own politics over the party’s chances in the state assembly election. The rift between BJP president Amit Shah and Raje was laid bare when she opposed the former’s choice, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, for state unit chief and brought in Rajya Sabha MP and RSS veteran Madan Lal Saini.