Lok Sabha polls 2014: Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje goes all out to ensure win in Jaswant war

JAISALMER: This is one battle Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje can't afford to lose. When she got Congress defector Sonaram Choudhary to fight on a BJP ticket, she knew there would be resistance . But Jaswant Singh made matters worse by deciding to contest as an independent from Barmer, a place he belongs to, and from where his son Manvendra Singh became an MP in 2004.

Having made this into a prestige battle, Raje has rushed several ministers, MLAs, MPs and senior leaders to the constituency to woo each and every caste and community and ensure that Jaswant doesn't eat into BJP's votes.

They have started a massive damage-control exercise by going from village to village. Ministers leading the exercise include Gajendra Singh Khinvsar, Gulab Chand Kataria, Prabhu Lal Saini and Yunus Khan. They were all told to lure back voters to Sonaram.

According to sources, Raje has given energy minister Khinvsar the responsibility of stopping Rajput votes going to Jaswant. Gajendra is campaigning in Rajputdominated areas and trying to pacify the community. Former Karni Sena leader Lokendra Singh Kalvi is also helping Gajendra.

Raje is leaving nothing to chance. She has got agriculture minister Saini to take care of Mali votes, MLAs Vishwanath and Amrita Meghwal are wooing Meghwals , MLA Krishan Ram Nai is targeting Sains and MLA Otaram Devasi the Rebaris.