Mix of old, new; social justice is the big message

CONTINUITY AS well as change, along with some social justice messaging. This is what the BJP’s first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections signals, striking a balance between the old guard and new faces, while balancing social representation on caste and gender lines.

If Union Minister Rajnath Singh, the party’s only pre-2009 national leader who is still prominent on the national stage, has been fielded again from Lucknow, the late Sushma Swaraj’s daughter, Bansuri Swaraj, will contest her first LS election from New Delhi, which is currently represented by Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was seen as having been sidelined when he was replaced as CM despite the BJP’s recent victory in the state, has been fielded from Vidisha, which was once his Lok Sabha seat. Sushma Swaraj was fielded from Vidisha when Chouhan was CM.

Winnability, representation and a propensity to work quietly as per the party’s requirements have all mattered — in varying degrees — in the selections. Apart from these factors, the first list does not reflect any other grand or consistent pattern.

The party has made it a point to emphasise its commitment to social justice on caste and gender lines, with the list including 29% OBCs (57 candidates), 14% SCs (27 candidates), and 9% STs (18 candidates).

While the presence of the last two categories is mandated by political reservation, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde’s specific mention of the proportion of OBCs seemed aimed at reinforcing the party’s claim of being the prime vehicle of OBC representation, at a time when the Congress has changed tack to demand a caste census, joining the ranks of the traditional Mandal parties. The total