Rajasthan polls: CM Vasundhara Raje tells BJP workers the lotus is the candidate

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Sunday told BJP workers that the lotus, the party’s symbol, would be their candidate in the December 7 assembly election, not any individual. Speaking at Ranakpur in Pali district to workers drawn from 31 assembly constituencies, she appeared to be heading off quarrels over ticket distribution.

Feedback on tickets

Raje said that once candidates were declared, workers should treat the lotus as the party’s nominee. She argued that unity would keep the BJP in power, while describing the Congress as divided.

Along with members of the state core committee and the election management committee, the Chief Minister sought workers’ views on probable names for the 31 seats. Workers dropped their suggestions into a sealed box. Minister Rajendra Rathore, who holds rural development, panchayati raj and parliamentary affairs, said afterwards that no “parachute” candidates would be fielded and that workers’ views would count in ticket decisions.

Raje claimed the BJP had done more development in the state in five years than the Congress had managed in 50. She also said the Congress had in effect conceded that her government’s welfare schemes were good, since former chief minister Ashok Gehlot had said a Congress government would keep them going.

Who attended

Those present included Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat; state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna; V Satish and Chandrasekhar from the party organisation; ministers Yunus Khan, Arun Chaturvedi, Rajendra Rathore and Gulab Chand Kataria; and senior figures Ashok Parnami, Satish Poonia and Om Mathur. The meetings with workers in Ranakpur were to continue until October 17, followed by a round in Jaipur from October 20 to 23.

What happened next

In the election, Congress won 99 of the 199 seats that voted on 7 December 2018 against the BJP’s 73, and Ashok Gehlot became Chief Minister.

See also: Political leaders

Originally published on 16 October 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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