Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is said to be out of favour with BJP chief Amit Shah and the RSS.
New Delhi: Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is reportedly concerned about detractors within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as she enters election season in a state known to vote out incumbents.
According to party sources, she has warned district BJP presidents and party workers against indulging in anti-party activities in the election, a move interpreted in party circles as a sign of her apprehensions about attempts to sabotage her chances of returning to power
At a high-level meeting in Jaipur Saturday, the sources added, Raje told party leaders that she was observing who was working for her ‘Gaurav Yatra’ and who wasn’t. The meeting took place right after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Ajmer.
Rajasthan, where the party won 163 of 200 assembly seats in 2013 and all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, is key to the BJP’s plans to return to power in 2019. Despite the recent differences, the party believes that, besides Modi, Raje played a crucial role in securing the stellar results.
Also read: Rajasthan, four other states to go to polls in November-December, counting on 11 Dec
“Jinhone mehnat ki hai woh meri jankari mein hai… Jinhone pradesh ki ‘Gaurav yatra’ mein sahyog diya, unka hardik dhanyawaad karti hoon,” she reportedly said, “Kaun kya kar raha hai, yeh sab meri knowledge mein hai. (I thank those who have worked hard for the state’s ‘Gaurav Yatra’… I am aware who is doing what),” Raje reportedly said at the meeting.
The meeting was attended, among others, by BJP national general secretaries Muralidhar Rao and Ram Lal, state BJP chief Madan Lal Saini, as well as MPs, MLAs, and district unit presidents.
Raje, the sources said, also “advised” those present to be more cautious about arrangements for election rallies.
On ticket distribution, she said nominations were reserved for those who work and whose names appear in the surveys commissioned by the BJP to gauge MLAs’ performance and identify popular local leaders.
Ram Lal echoed Raje’s statement.
“Those who do not feature in the list, and have not worked for the party either, should not oppose (the selection exercise),” a district BJP chief who attended the meeting said, “The aim is to win elections.”
Not in the good books of BJP brass
Raje has been at loggerheads with BJP national president Amit Shah as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over control of the state unit and her refusal to toe the Sangh line.
The RSS has been unhappy with her since she refused to pay heed to the protests of Hindu groups against her government’s drive to demolish temples in Jaipur for the metro rail project.
Also read: Amit Shah keeps Vasundhara Raje out of Rajasthan rallies as their rift widens
The discord is so intense that Shah has been holding meetings with party workers and campaigning in the state without involving the chief minister.
Just earlier this year, the standoff between the two held up the appointment of a new state BJP chief for several weeks. Saini was finally selected as a compromise candidate after Raje successfully resisted Shah’s attempts to appoint Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Bahut mushqil hai. Lady is expected to win about 50 – 60 seats. The Congress is fortunate to have Sachin Pilot, someone who will sparkle later in Delhi as well. Sad that the party does not like strong leaders with an independent base. Ashok Gahlot has had his innings, at least in Jaipur.