Vasundhara Raje supporters float new outfit in Rajasthan

By Express News Service
JAIPUR: Supporters of former CM Vasundhra Raje, led by a Jaipur-based lawyer Vijay Bhardwaj, floated ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Rajasthan Manch’, a new outfit on Friday.

This development came on the same day when BJP president J P Nadda summoned top leaders from the state for a meeting in Delhi without inviting Vasundhara Raje.  State BJP chief Satish Poonia, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria, and his deputy Rajendra Rathore were asked to rush to meet Nadda.

The new outfit has announced on social media its state executive committee and appointment of district presidents and team members.

Poonia said there is no such tradition in the BJP where ideology is bigger than any individual. He confirmed that the matter has been referred to the party High Command. “It is not a serious matter because it is only on social media. Those who are behind it are not recognised party leaders. This issue is already in the knowledge of the party’s central leadership,” he said. 

Vijay Bhardwaj, the president of the new outfit, claimed that the Manch, which has already covered 57 Assembly segments, will propagate the ideology Vijaya Raje Scindia, mother of Vasundhara Raje and founder member of BJP. He asserted: “We have founded this organisation in December 2020 to highlight the work done by Vasundhara Raje. She is the tallest leader of BJP in Rajasthan and we want to bring her back as CM in 2023.”

Bhardwaj further claimed that the Manch has a waiting list of more than 2000 people who wants to join the outfit. The appointment letters of the officials of the Manch clearly state that all of them will be loyal to Vasundhara Raje and will highlight her work in all parts of Rajasthan.

In 2003-04, a controversial Vasundhara Mitra Parishad was floated as a parallel organisation. What role the ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Rajasthan Manch’ will now play is an open question. Ever since the BJP lost Assembly elections in 2018,  Raje has been sidelined by the party’s high command.

While Raje is totally silent on the current issue, it is well-known that she is upset at being marginalized by BJP top brass. Political circles are now buzzing about how this issue of a parallel organisation will be handled by the BJP high command.