Earlier in 2013, when the country was inching towards a monumental change with narendra Modi’s arrival on the national scene, diya Kumari ventured into politics. She joined the bjp before a massive crowd of lakhs, in the presence of Modi, who was Gujarat’s chief minister at the time, and Vasundhara Raje, at a rally in jaipur her home turf. She fought and won the assembly election from Sawai Madhopur, a Rajput-dominated seat, instead of jaipur whose caste calculus was more cosmopolitan. In 2019, she was elected from the Rajsamand lok sabha constituency.
Meanwhile in politics, small things are indicative of what is to come. During the early days of the BJP’s 2023 rajasthan campaign, something happened that was a giveaway that Kumari’s stature was going up. When prime minister narendra Modi went to jaipur on the occasion of the completion of the Parivartan Sankalp Yatra, it was diya Kumari someone associated with the bjp for barely a decade who was entrusted with the job of coordination on stage. Such responsibilities for a Modi rally are generally given to one of the senior-most or supremely trusted leaders of the party.
A lingering question that has been around in Jaipur’s power corridors is will Raje be to diya Kumari what Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was to Raje? The way BJP’s legislature party meeting went on Tuesday, it was clear that Raje wouldn’t be a roadblock. In a state where royalty is still looked up to and commands respect, it seems the bjp has found a new ‘princess’ part of the next-gen to lead the desert state.
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