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Tag: Rajasthan BJP

  • Rajasthan BJP chief CP Joshi announces new state leaders ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha polls

    Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajasthan unit president CP Joshi has announced the formation of a new state team, bringing about significant changes.

    Late on Friday night, the list of new state officials of the party was released. It includes 10 state vice-presidents, 5 state secretaries, 13 state ministers, one treasurer, and one assistant treasurer.

    MLA Baba Balak Nath and recently elected Rajya Sabha MP Chunnilal Garasia have been appointed as state vice-presidents of Alwar and Udaipur respectively.Jitendra Gothwal, another legislator, has been assigned the responsibility of state secretary of Sawai Madhopur.

    Former MP Jyoti Mirdha has been appointed as the party’s state Vice president of Nagaur.

    Some current state officials have been given promotions based on their performance, while others have been retained in their current positions.The party’s ex-state President Omprakash Bhadana has been appointed as the State Secretary of Ajmer. Minister Minister Motilal Meena has been made Vice President in place of the General Secretary.The exclusion of some prominent leaders and the elevation of others by the BJP in Rajasthan suggest a calculated effort to bring in fresh perspectives and dynamics within the party ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections.

    Meanwhile, Rajasthan BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha State President also announced a fresh list of candidates. Seven state vice presidents were inducted in the new team, including Ramkrishna Verma, Omprakash Jediya, Shailendra Chauhan, BL Naval, Lalit Lakhwal, Bhajanlal Rolan and Anju Jatav were added.

    Three general ministers including Mukesh Garg, Lalaram Berwa and Mukesh Kirad, while seven State Ministers include Sitaram Lugaria, Mukesh Sindal, Sube Singh Marodia, Dinesh Verma, Motandas Nayak, Madan Gopal Jhanjhot and Prakash Meghwal. (ANI)

  • Rajasthan govt dismisses BJP councillor from Jaipur mayor post

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government on Tuesday dismissed BJP’s Soumya Gurjar as the Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation mayor and councillor after a judicial inquiry found her guilty of assaulting former commissioner Yagya Mitra Singh Deo.

    The local self government department has also debarred Gurjar from re-election for a period of six years, according to an order.

    Earlier, on August 22, the membership of two BJP councillors Paras Jain and Ajay Singh and an independent ward councilor Shankar Sharma were terminated in the same matter.

    Inquiry was pending against Gurjar.

    Deputy mayor Puneet Karnawat voiced strong opposition against the government’s decision, describing it as an “attack on democracy”.

    “The expulsion of the mayor and the three councillors earlier is due to political reasons and political animosity. To use a simple incident in this manner and terminate the membership of elected public representatives is a deep attack on democracy. We will strongly oppose this and fight for the rights of our comrades. The final victory will be ours,” Karnawat said in a statement.

    On June 4 last year, a dispute occurred at the mayor’s office between the then commissioner Yagya Mitra Singh Deo and the councillors.

    Two days later, the government suspended the mayor and the councillors, while Sheel Dhabhai was made the caretaker mayor on June 7, 2021.

    Later, on the basis of a stay received from a court, Soumya Gurjar had been reinstated as the mayor.

    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government on Tuesday dismissed BJP’s Soumya Gurjar as the Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation mayor and councillor after a judicial inquiry found her guilty of assaulting former commissioner Yagya Mitra Singh Deo.

    The local self government department has also debarred Gurjar from re-election for a period of six years, according to an order.

    Earlier, on August 22, the membership of two BJP councillors Paras Jain and Ajay Singh and an independent ward councilor Shankar Sharma were terminated in the same matter.

    Inquiry was pending against Gurjar.

    Deputy mayor Puneet Karnawat voiced strong opposition against the government’s decision, describing it as an “attack on democracy”.

    “The expulsion of the mayor and the three councillors earlier is due to political reasons and political animosity. To use a simple incident in this manner and terminate the membership of elected public representatives is a deep attack on democracy. We will strongly oppose this and fight for the rights of our comrades. The final victory will be ours,” Karnawat said in a statement.

    On June 4 last year, a dispute occurred at the mayor’s office between the then commissioner Yagya Mitra Singh Deo and the councillors.

    Two days later, the government suspended the mayor and the councillors, while Sheel Dhabhai was made the caretaker mayor on June 7, 2021.

    Later, on the basis of a stay received from a court, Soumya Gurjar had been reinstated as the mayor.

  • Nadda calls for BJP unity, Vasundhara Raje skips Rajasthan camp

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: Rift in the Rajasthan BJP once again came to the fore as former chief minister Vasundhara Raje stayed away from the three-day training camp held for the party leaders and workers in Mount Abu.

    Raje’s absence particularly stuck out as BJP president JP Nadda reached the event to address the cadre on the concluding day of the camp on Tuesday. Raje, meanwhile, had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

    Speaking at the event, Nadda urged the party cadre not to involve family members in politics, saying they should help the country and society and not their family members. “No person is bigger than the party. Only if the party is good, will you be good. Everyone’s turn comes in politics. Keep the sentiment of ‘us’ in your minds, not the sentiment of ‘me’,” he said.

    In the three-day camp, the party workers were apprised of many issues, including the need to strengthen the organisation, make the schemes of the central government reach the people, and target the state government over various problems.

    Meanwhile, Raje stayed away from the event on all three days. Her loyalists are keen that she should be projected as the party’s choice for the Chief Minister’s post before the Assembly elections next year. 

  • Vasundhara Raje’s Mewar yatra sets BJP abuzz, ex-Rajasthan CM claims no political motive

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: While the tussle in the Congress appears to have calmed down, the religious tour of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje in Mewar has raised political temperatures in the BJP in Rajasthan. The former chief minister began her yatra from Sanwaliya Ji Temple in Chittorgarh on Tuesday. She will cover six districts till November 25 during which she will visit Tripura Sundari Temple in Banswara, Shrinath Ji Temple in Nathdwara and the Eklingji and Charbhuja temples in Udaipur.

    She will also address meetings at different places. She will also pay homage to party leaders who passed away due to Covid-19 and pray for the state’s prosperity in various temples. “From the very beginning, I believe in ‘dharm-neeti’ instead of ‘rajneeti’,” Raje said.

    “My aim is not political but I only want to meet all those who are a part of our family and give strength to those families who have lost their loved ones due to Covid. And I want to go to all these temples which have always helped us in order to thank them as Covid threat is now being removed from our lives.” Though Raje claimed that the tour was apolitical, it has set off a buzz that she is trying to once again reassert herself ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.

    Raje’s yatra comes after the BJP’s crushing defeat in the bypolls in two seats in Mewar, with party’s candidates coming at number three and four positions. Interestingly, Mewar, one of the most politically crucial regions of the state, is the stronghold of her main rival in the party and the leader of opposition, Gulabchand Kataria.

    According to sources, Kataria has not even been informed about Raje’s tour. Raje loyalists from across the state have become active again in this important division. Leaders supported by the former CM like Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Pratap Singh Singhvi, Prahlad Gunjal, B S Rajawat and Ashok Parnami are all seen as active in the yatra. Political experts believe Raje aims to show her penetration in her rival’s bastion which is set to intensify the fight for supremacy in the party.

  • Congress highlights internal feud brewing in Rajasthan BJP unit

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: A day after signs of internal feud surfaced in BJP’s Rajasthan unit ahead of the assembly session, the ruling Congress on Wednesday targeted the opposition party by describing it as an “undisciplined party having six chief ministerial candidates”.

    Commenting on the letter of senior BJP MLA and former speaker Kailash Meghwal to BJP national president J P Nadda against the Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria, Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the questions that Meghwal has raised are important.

    “Though it is their internal matter, the questions which Meghwal has raised are important,” Khachariyawas told reporters on Wednesday.

    Health Minister Raghu Sharma said the infighting in the opposition party has clearly surfaced.

    “The sort of circumstances which have been created clearly shows that BJP is an undisciplined party. There are 6 CM candidates in BJP. The party recently took out Jan Ashirwad yatra but what are they seeking blessings for?” Sharma asked.

    He said that despite considerable decline in revenue, the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state did not let development work suffer during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Meghwal had recently written a letter to BJP chief Nadda, saying that Kataria has damaged the saffron party with his comments on Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap and Lord Ram.

    Commenting on the letter, Kataria has said that he was ready to accept the party’s decision on the matter.

    “I am ready for whatever decision the party takes for me,” he said in a video message.

    MLA Meghwal informed the party’s state president Satish Poonia through a letter that he would move a resolution against Kataria in the party’s legislature meeting ahead of the assembly session, which will start on Thursday.

    The resolution will be introduced to condemn Kataria for his statements on Maharana Pratap and Lord Ram, which caused loss to the party during the by-elections, according to Meghwal’s letter written to Poonia on September 4.

    During campaigning for the bypolls in Rajsamand in April, Kataria stoked controversy by making derogatory remarks regarding Maharana Pratap, triggering widespread criticism.

    Around the same time, he also said that without BJP, ‘Shri Ram’ would have been in the sea.

  • Message of CM face from ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ of Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: The ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ by Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav has heated up the internal politics of the Rajasthan BJP. 

    Although Vasundhara Raje has been included in the posters for the yatra, she and her entire faction continue to remain missing from action. In contrast, the anti-Vasundhara lobby is being seen prominently in promoting the yatra. This has set off strong speculation that Yadav is now trying to establish himself as a potential CM face in the state. 

    Interestingly, a former MLA from the anti-Vasundhara lobby has advised Raje to move to the central stage and allow a new leader to emerge as BJP’s CM face for the next elections in Rajasthan. 

    On the second day of his Yatra on Friday, Yadav entered Ajmer district where he was greeted with much enthusiasm. Yadav, who was recently inducted into the Modi cabinet, had studied in Ajmer and still has strong links in the district.

    Making scathing attacks on the Congress government in the state, Yadav asked party workers to work with a commitment to form a BJP government in 2003 with a three-fourth majority. “We could not form the government in Rajasthan 2018. We lost with a narrow margin but it caused a huge loss to the people of Rajasthan. But now people are ready to vote out the Congress party.” 

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    The mission of the three-day Yatra is the Assembly elections in 2023 but with Bhupendra Yadav becoming the face rather than other MPs such as Gajendra Shekhawat or Arjun Ram Meghwal, questions are being asked whether the party wants to position him as a new CM face of the party in the state. 

    Yadav who is considered close to Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi, is also a major strategist of the party. BJP sources said that Bhupendra Yadav’s Yatra carries a deeper political statement. While on the surface it does not appear to be so, political circles in the desert state have suddenly started resonating with the show of power that is coming out as a result of this Yatra. While hordes of people gathered to welcome Yadav during the yatra, senior leaders of the party too were seen welcoming him. Besides, many MPs and MLAs along with stalwarts such as Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Satish Poonia, Rajendra Rathore, and Gulab Chand Kataria are seen to be very active during the Yatra. 

    Except for Raje loyalists, all the major BJP leaders are being seen in this Yatra. While Raje, a two-time CM, has been established as the face of the party in the state, the BJP’s central leadership has tried to sideline her for the past two years.

    After he was made a Union Minister, Bhupendra Yadav has emerged as a possible CM face for the BJP. With the party choosing him to be face of the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’, many in the BJP say the party is now trying to promote him. However, Yadav himself has denied that he is a CM contender. “I am not a claimant to the CM post. These speculations are baseless. There are many leaders in the state BJP from whom I still learn even today,” said Yadav 

    Interestingly, a former BJP MLA from Alwar district, Gyandev Ahuja has made some important comments about Vasundhara Raje’s future. He said: “Raje has been the Chief Minister of Rajasthan twice. Now she should leave the state of her own will and go to the Centre. Raje should give chance to other people in the state by becoming a minister at the Centre and should work under the national leadership.” 

    Besides Vasundhara Raje, the Rajasthan BJP already has several leaders who are keen to become the CM face. Among them are Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Meghwal, former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh, current BJP state chief Satish Poonia and the current Leader of the Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria. While the ultimate decision will be made in 2023, the ‘Jan Aashirwad Yatra’ has certainly made Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav as a potential CM face for Rajasthan.

  • Vasundhara Raje back on BJP posters as party moves to patch up rift in Rajasthan unit

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: The ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ of the BJP in Rajasthan seems to have become a means to patch up the rift in the party’s state unit.

    As Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav set off on his three-day yatra from Alwar’s Bhiwadi town on Wednesday, it was interesting to see that the posters this time also included former CM Vasundhara Raje. She was dropped from all posters at the BJP headquarters in Jaipur two months ago. 

    This is being seen as an attempt to pacify Raje loyalists who are planning their own yatra in the state from next month. Last week, Raje said that she is more interested in living in people’s hearts than being seen on posters. 

    Significantly, in the poster of ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’, Vasundhara Raje has been put up along with PM Narendra Modi, National President JP Nadda, BJP in-charge for Rajasthan, Arun Singh, and Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav, Gajendra Shekhawat, Arjun Meghwal, and Kailash Chaudhary. In addition, state BJP president Satish Poonia and Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria are also seen on this poster. The poster has been put up even on the social media outlets of the Rajasthan BJP. 

    In Rajasthan, ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ will cover a distance of 417 km in three days. In this period, Yadav and BJP leaders will interact with the people of the state at 40 places and review the schemes of the central government in order to strengthen the party’s connection with people at the grassroots. 

    Politically, however, it is the poster of ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ that is being most talked about given the controversies over posters for the past few months. Pictures of Vasundhara Raje were removed from posters and banners outside the state party headquarters in June which angered the former CM’s followers. But now that Raje is back in state BJP’s posters, it is being widely speculated that the yatra may well become a truce-maker between the two major camps in Rajasthan BJP – one led by state party chief Satish Poonia and the other by former CM Raje. 

    Although Raje remained quiet for several weeks, her followers openly spoke against the party leadership in the state and last month. One of her loyalists, Rohitashv Sharma, was also expelled from the party for six years. A week ago, Raje hit back at the poster row for the first time and said, “I don’t believe in the politics of posters but want to live in the hearts of the people.” 

    BJP sources say the party’s central leadership is keeping its eyes on Rajasthan and sending teams to review and monitor the situation. While a few party veterans have already toured the state, Bhupender Yadav is now trying to balance the equations in the state BJP. 

  • Vasundhara Raje loyalists to hold ‘Rath Yatra’ to project her as CM face in 2023 Rajasthan polls

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: The rift in the Rajasthan BJP took a new turn as one of Vasundhra Raje’s strong supporters and former minister Rohitashva Sharma announced that he would soon start a ‘Rath Yatra’ to ensure that Raje returns as Chief Minister of the state in 2023. 

    Announcing this at a grand rally in Alwar district’s Bansur constituency, Sharma on Sunday asserted that through this Rath Yatra an “environment to make Vasundhara Raje the CM of Rajasthan in 2023 will be created”.

    Rohitashva Sharma displayed his loyalty towards Raje at the massive rally on Sunday and even spoke to Vasundhra Raje on phone from the podium of the public meeting. 

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    Flanked by a large group of Raje loyalists, Sharma declared that he was launching ‘Vasundhara Raje Mission 2023’ with his supporters and would carry on with his yatra and rallies till he succeeds in bringing back Raje as the chief minister.

    In a video statement issued on Saturday, Sharma said that “I will take everyone’s blessings for ‘Vasundhara Raje Mission 2023’. He also pledged not to sleep ‘peacefully’ till Raje becomes the chief minister.”

    Rohitashva Sharma was expelled from the BJP on charges of indiscipline over his remarks that Raje should be the CM face for the 2023 elections in Rajasthan. He had also alleged that currently state BJP leaders are running the party just by sitting in their offices. These remarks were seen as an attack on the functioning of Satish Poonia, the state BJP Chief who is widely seen as an RSS man and an arch rival of Vasundhara Raje.

    Political observers say that Sharma’s expulsion from the BJP was aimed at checking the dissidence in the party’s Rajasthan unit. But given Sharma’s open defiance and clear attempt to project Raje as the CM face for the 2023 elections, the rift and factionalism in the state BJP is all set to enter a new phase. 

    Sharma plans to begin the ‘Rath Yatra’ for ‘Vasundhara Raje Mission 2023’ soon after the monsoon season ends in the state.

  • Vasundhara Raje’s purported audio clip goes viral amid BJP rift in Rajasthan

    By Express News Service
    JAIPUR: After a 22-year-old resignation letter penned by Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia went viral recently, a purported audio clip of Vasundhara Raje has gone viral on Friday, where the former Chief Minister can be heard recognising the members of ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Manch’ as her own people.

    In the clip, Raje can also be heard directing the forum’s district president Tarachand Sharma to continue running the platform.

    The audio clip has established that Raje is directly associated with the activities of the Manch. This audio leakage is being seen in political circles as a retaliatory move by Vasundhra critics, especially from the RSS lobby, who are angry that a 22-year-old letter of Poonia was leaked last week to embarrass the state BJP president.

    The leakage of the Vasundhara Raje audio clip is being linked to the infighting in the Rajasthan BJP. Over the past several months, Vasundhara loyalists have not only formed the ‘Manch’ but have demanded that Raje be declared as the party’s chief ministerial face for the 2023 elections.

    It needs to be mentioned here that the ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Manch’ is a platform being run on social media for the past few months. The forum has been demanding Raje to be announced as the CM face for the next Assembly elections scheduled in 2023.

    However, to date, only the followers of Raje were seen voicing their opinions on social media. But the latest audio clip has raised questions about whether Raje herself is backing this platform.

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    Many eyebrows were raised at the start of the year when the list of presidents of this forum was announced for each district of the state, giving rise to speculation that Raje is floating her own political party.

    But Raje’s silence over the next few months has put an end to the discussions, while her followers still continue to declare her as the CM face for the 2023 elections.

    Raje continued doing philanthropic work during the Covid-19 pandemic through this forum, running a parallel entity to the state BJP unit.

    Now with the release of this audio clip, silent whispers in the political corridors are once again hinting at Raje planning to go solo in the upcoming Assembly elections.

    However, there has been no response from the Raje camp till the filing of this report, while district president Tarachand Sharma has said that Raje was speaking about continuing the philanthropic work, and there is nothing more to it.

    The audio clip has gone viral a few days after a three-page resignation letter written by Poonia 22 years back went viral on social media.

    Factionalism is running deep within the saffron party in Rajasthan ever since the appointment of Poonia as the state BJP President. Since then, Raje has been maintaining a distance with the party office, even staying away from the campaign for the recent bypolls.

    Recently, her posters were removed from state BJP headquarters.

    Poonia is presently in Delhi holding discussions with senior party leaders on a range of issues concerning the party in Rajasthan.

    (With agency inputs)

  • Now, 22-year-old letter of Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia sharpens party rift

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: The infighting in the Rajasthan BJP has led to a strange situation as a letter written by Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia 22 years ago has become the focal point of the party’s internal rift.

    Days after the state unit issued a notice to a Vasundhra Raje loyalist Rohitash Sharma, the letter by the current BJP chief has been leaked and gone viral on social media. While his critics are using this letter to project that Poonia used to flout party discipline in the past, Poonia says it’s a conspiracy to defame him and has questioned why his letter, written over decades ago, has now been leaked.

    In this 22-year-old letter, Satish Poonia had expressed his anger against senior BJP leaders of that time including former Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Rajendra Rathore, currently the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly. In the letter, Poonia had lashed out at several top leaders of the Rajasthan BJP and accused them of conniving against him to deny him the BJP ticket for an upcoming election. Poonia had sent the letter to Gulab Chand Kataria, who was then the Rajasthan BJP president and Poonia had in protest, sent his resignation as the BJP’s state youth wing president.

    Poonia’s letter has been leaked just a few days after one of Vasundhra Raje’s close supporters and former minister Rohitash Sharma was issued a notice and asked to explain his recent statements within 15 days. Sharma had claimed that Raje should be the CM face for the 2023 elections in Rajasthan and alleged that currently, state BJP leaders are running the party just by sitting in their offices.

    While Rohitash Sharma is yet to respond to the party’s notice on charges of indiscipline, he was quick to use the old letter of Satish Poonia to embarrass the state BJP Chief.  Sharma remarked, “it is strange that a person who crossed all limits of indiscipline in the past, is now trying to enforce discipline on others. What discipline can a person teach others when he has committed gross indiscipline? This is really a sad situation.”

    In response, Poonia has questioned the timing of its leakage, over two decades after he wrote it. After the letter went viral, Poonia took to Twitter to defend himself and stated that ” this is a political conspiracy against me since I am a simple man from a village background who many city folks cannot digest. I can’t understand what is the relevance today of a letter written 22 years ago.”

    While nobody knows who has leaked it, inner circles in the BJP suspect that Poonia critics, possibly from the Raje faction, behind it. With Raje loyalists getting aggressive and the Poonia camp keen to enforce discipline, the rift in the Rajasthan BJP is widening with each passing day.