Rajasthan BJP suspends 11 rebels, including four ministers, before December 7 polls

The BJP in Rajasthan has suspended 11 senior leaders, four of them ministers in Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s government, after they declined to withdraw nominations filed against the party’s official candidates. A party press release issued on Thursday said the rebels had been removed from primary membership for six years.

Who was suspended

In alphabetical order, those suspended were Anita Katara, Deendayal Kumavat, Dhansingh Rawat, Hemsingh Bhadana, Kishanram Nai, Kuldeep Dhankad, Lakshminarayan Dave, Radheshyam Ganganagar, Rajkumar Rinava, Rameshwar Bhati and Surendra Goyal.

Many party rebels had entered the race for the December 7 election, and several MLAs left the BJP after being denied tickets. The Raje-led party was seen as up against strong anti-incumbency, and the dissent was not expected to help.

Rebels on both sides

Manvendra Singh, a BJP legislator who rebelled and joined the Congress, was contesting against Raje herself in Jhalrapatan. His ties with the BJP leadership had deteriorated when the party refused his father, Jaswant Singh, a former Union Minister, a ticket for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

The Congress faced a similar problem, with reportedly more than 40 rebels, four former ministers among them, who could hurt its prospects.

The BJP, which had again named Raje as its chief ministerial face, projected confidence. Campaigning in the state the previous week, party president Amit Shah said the outcome in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh would set the trend for 2019. He added: “The BJP’s victory in 2019 will pave the way for the party to rule for the next 50 years.”

What happened next

The Congress became the largest party with 99 of the 199 seats that voted, against 73 for the BJP, and Ashok Gehlot became Chief Minister.

See also: State assembly members

Originally published on 23 November 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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