Is Hindutva A Poll Agenda For The BJP In Rajasthan?

The BJP has announced 162 candidates out of 200 already in Rajasthan. Most of them are repeats, except for 40 MLAs who have been dropped alongwith four ministers. But what has come as a suprise is the BJP's dropping of two Hindutva hardliners from ground zero of polarization, the Alwar Lok Sabha seat. Here two MLAs, Gyan Dev Ahuja, known for his provocative statements and VHP man from Alwar Banwari Lal Singhal, have both been denied tickets. Alwar saw the maximum polarisation over cow vigilantism and the lynchings of Rakbar Khan and Pehlu Khan in the past two years. But have Banwari Lal Singhal and Gyan Dev only been dropped for their hardline image or does the BJP also hope to beat anti-incumbency by axing them? The Alwar Lok Sabha by election in February, fought on the lines of cow, communal politics and caste, saw the party face the biggest defeat - it lost Alwar by nearly two lakh votes. So has Hindutva Failed the BJP in Rajasthan? The jury is still out on that as the party still has a Hindutva card up its sleeve. The party has not given a single ticket to a Muslim in Rajasthan of the 162 seats declared so far.