E-Paper
No candidate in Rajasthan polls will be allowed to change seats: Javadekar
Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that ‘winnability’ will be the only criteria to choose candidates for the December 7 Rajasthan assembly polls and also dismissed Congress leader Ashok Gehlot’s claims that there was anger against chief minister Vasundhara Raje
Amid speculation that several BJP ministers and MLAs in Rajasthan were searching for safe seats for the coming assembly elections, Union minister and state election in charge Prakash Javadekar Tuesday said that no one will not be allowed to change their seats while “winnability” will be the the only factor in deciding the candidate.
Addressing a press conference at the new BJP media centre here, Javadekar said: “No one will be allowed to change seats. Candidates will be changed.”
On children of BJP leaders seeking tickets, the Union minister for human resource development said any party worker who has the greatest chance of winning will be fielded, and there was no formula on whether the BJP would allow MPs to contest polls.
“A decision will be taken on each seat taking into consideration the factors prevailing there... Winnability will be the only factor in deciding tickets,” he said, adding that last week BJP leaders took feedback from 12,000 workers from 200 assembly seats over six days.
“We listened to our workers and took their suggestions on names of candidates along with other things. This exercise cannot happen in the Congress because it is the party of one family, while the BJP is a party that is one family.”
He said in the past four or five years, politics has changed and the BJP’s footprint in the country increased steadily while that of the Congress shrunk. “This happened because votebank politics ended. People rejected the politics of one family and have started voting for development,” he said.
He dismissed former chief minster Ashok Gehlot’s allegations that there was anger against chief minister Vasundhara Raje and the BJP was focusing on the lotus symbol instead of the candidate. “We have already declared that Raje is the party’s chief ministerial candidate. There is no confusion in the BJP. For us, the party is bigger than the individual so obviously we will focus on the party symbol.”
Targeting the Congress, he said it is leaderless and issueless. “They can’t say who is their CM face in Rajasthan and now P Chidambaram has said that they also don’t have a PM face.”
Javadekar said state Congress chief Sachin Pilot was Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s choice for chief minister of Rajasthan but he does not have the courage to announce it officially.
Javadekar said the BJP is fighting the assembly and general elections on the issue of development. “We challenge the Congress to debate on development by comparing the work under the Congress and BJP governments.”
Reacting to Javadekar’s statements, Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma said that the BJP was making new announcements and changing its strategy daily.
“They are saying that candidates won’t be allowed to change seats and unpopular leaders will be denied tickets. The BJP should understand that the people are disillusioned and whether they change their faces or their strategy, people have made up their minds and their exit is final,” she said.
Elections to the 200-member assembly will be held December 7. Votes will be counted December 11.
