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Tag: Rajasthan BJP

  • BJP posters in Rajasthan without former CM Vasundhara Raje face fan factional fight

    Express News Service
    After years of getting prominent display on BJP posters in Rajasthan, former chief minister and BJP bigwig Vasundhara Raje’s face went missing from the party hoardings for the first time in two decades, indicating that Congress is not alone in fighting factionalism.

    While BJP’s state unit president Satish Poonia said newer faces replacing the older is indicative of a generational shift, Raje supporters were not amused, insisting hers was the most popular BJP face in the state.

    Poonia, a known Raje critic, said the decision on who would get a place on posters is taken by the Central leadership.

    ALSO READ: Ashok Gehlot appoints Vasundhara Raje loyalist as mayor, creates divide in Rajasthan BJP

    “The state unit has no say in this matter. According to an established norm, the state president’s photo is displayed on hoardings in all the states, along with the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national president J P Nadda, the chief minister of the state where the party is in power. But where ever the party is in opposition, the protocol is to put the photo of the leader of the Opposition and the state president. All this is decided by Delhi,” he said.

    However, the explanation did not cut ice with Raje’s supporters. A former BJP MLA, Prahlad Gunjal, not only targeted Raje critics but also asserted that it’s impossible for the BJP to return to power in Rajasthan without Raje.

    ALSO READ: With return of Vasundhara Raje, factionalism erupts in Rajasthan BJP

    “Who are these people who want to sideline Raje? Frankly, it’s unimaginable how BJP will return to power in Rajasthan without Vasundhara at the helm. We do not have a single leader of her stature in the state,” he said.

    Clearly, the decision to drop Raje from BJP posters and the party’s state chief’s attempt to justify it has fanned the flames of discontent, which will only likely grow stronger. 

  • Vasundhara Raje missing in new BJP posters in Rajasthan

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Photos of former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje are missing from the new hoarding put up at the state BJP headquarters. It has photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda and BJP state president Satish Poonia and leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria, but photo of Vasundhara Raje is conspicuously missing.

    Amit Shah’s photo is also missing in the new poster. Earlier, the main hoarding at the party headquarters had photographs of former CM Vasundhara Raje and deputy leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore along with Satish Poonia and Gulabchand Kataria. It also featured national leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda.

    On April 13, the Karni Sena workers had splashed ink on the photo of Gulabchand Kataria on the main hoarding at the BJP headquarters. During the by-election campaign, Kataria had made comments about Maharana Pratap, which had led to the incident and on April 13. 

    Raje has been the chief minister of state twice and her photo not being on the hoarding has created strong buzz in the political circles regarding an internal tussle within the state saffron camp.

  • With return of Vasundhara Raje, factionalism erupts in Rajasthan BJP

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: With former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhra Raje returning to active political life, the state BJP is seeing the emergence of factionalism. Her supporters are distributing food to the needy in different parts of the state under a campaign called Vasundhra Jan Rasoi (Vasundhra public kitchen). The campaign puts the spotlight on Raje, not the party.

    The campaign was launched on May 21 by distributing food packets to about 300 families in Hasanpura Basti of Jaipur in the presence of Yunus Khan, former cabinet minister, who is considered very close to Raje.

    “Food packets are being distributed through ‘Vasundhara Jan Rasoi’ to the needy during this calamity by former CM Raje’s supporters and fans across the state,” said Yunus Khan. Supporters of the former chief minister are calling it public service. 

    But, internal sources say the participation of many sitting BJP MPs, former ministers, MLAs are to demonstrate the political clout of the former chief minister. A separate campaign to help the poor is already being run by the state BJP unit. It is called ‘Seva Hi Sangathan’.

    This includes blood donation campaigns, decoction, mask and sanitiser distribution and many other services. Demands have already been made to make Raje as the chief ministerial face in 2023 elections.

  • In show of strength, Vasundhara Raje reminds Rajasthan BJP of her mother’s role

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje began her religious visit with a massive ‘show of strength’ on Sunday amid the ongoing tussle in the Rajasthan BJP.

    Soon after arriving by helicopter at ‘Pooncchri Ka Lautha’ in Bharatpur, Vasundhara addressed the public which had come in large numbers to welcome her and reminded the gathering (and the BJP high command) about her family’s contribution to the party.

    As she started her two-day ‘Dev Darshan Yatra’, Raje said, “Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia played an important role in not letting the BJP’s ‘lotus flower’ wilt.  She was always full of nationalism and the BJP in every pore of her body. And I am the daughter of the same mother.”

    Though her words can be interpreted in many ways, most political experts see them as Raje’s message to both – her critics and the party high command – that she cannot be forgotten or side-lined in the party.

    The Yatra, which has been timed to coincide with Raje’s birthday on March 8, attracted over 2 dozen sitting BJP MLAs, a few MPs, 70 former MLAs and numerous office bearers of her faction who were all present with the former Chief Minister on Sunday.

    In addition, while addressing the gathering, Raje, also attacked the Gehlot government. She said that many schemes were launched during her tenure as CM for the development of the state but today the government has closed all of them. “We all have to work together to root out Ashok Gehlot’s Congress government. With the name of Gir-raj Maharaj, all of us will pray for the resumed development of Rajasthan,” she remarked.

    With this, Raje has clearly indicated that she has no plan of shifting to the national stage as the party high command reportedly wants her to. Instead, Raje has sent out a clear message that Rajasthan will remain her main focus – no matter what her critics in the state unit might do or say.

    For the past several months, Raje has been locked in a major fight with state BJP President Satish Poonia from the RSS lobby in the party. Given this tussle, BJP national president JP Nadda who had visited Jaipur on Tuesday had even got Raje and Poonia to join and raise hands together in order to bridge the growing rift. Nadda had stressed on the need for unity in the party ahead of the state assembly bypolls.

    Through the Dev Darshan Yatra, Raje and her supporters also want to send out a message to her critics that she is the most popular leader in the BJP. For weeks, Raje loyalists have claimed that the party has sidelined her and have been openly demanding that she should be the CM face in the 2023 Assembly elections.

    On the second day of her Yatra, loyalists plan to celebrate Raje’s birthday as a ‘Swabhiman Diwas’ or a Self-Respect Day as a means to revive Raje’s political fortunes. Besides visiting several temples, Raje and all leaders and workers of the party supporting her will celebrate her 69th birthday in a grand style in her home district of Dholpur.

  • Infighting in Rajasthan BJP intensifies, Vasundhara Raje stays silent

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR:  The BJP infighting in Rajasthan has intensified following a clash between two senior leaders at the BJP Legislature Party meeting on Wednesday. 

    The sharp exchange involved former Speaker Kailash Meghwal and leader of the Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, an RSS senior, who threatened to quit. Meghwal is considered close to former CM Vasundhara Raje, who was present when the altercation took place. She remained silent during the verbal duel. 

    In the battle of supremacy, the state BJP is torn between Raje loyalists and her RSS critics. Sources said in the Legislature Party meeting, Meghwal accused Kataria of bias while selecting party MLAs to speak in the Assembly. Last week he and 19 party MLAs had raised the issue in a letter to the state BJP chief.

    Meghwal questioned why the party had no chief whip in the Assembly. He raised the issue of the party’s ‘one person one post’ principle. He pointed out that the leader of Opposition was also chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and questioned why one was holding two posts.

    Kataria rejected the charge of discriminating against some MLAs, including Pratapsingh Singhvi (a signatory in the letter).

    “If you (Meghwal) have problems with me, inform those who gave me this responsibility. If need be, I will not take two minutes to resign. But I will serve the party with loyalty.”

    While the two senior leaders clashed, Vasundhara Raje kept her silence. Observers say the issue is not about speaking in the Assembly but is a test tool for the leadership conflict in the party.  

    Raje neither spoke in the core group meeting nor in the Legislature Party meeting. This is now being linked to the battle of leadership between the Raje and the RSS camps.

  • After massive show of strength, Vasundhara Raje attends BJP meet in Jaipur, rift persists

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Amid a severe power tussle between former CM Vasundhara Raje and the current state BJP president Satish Poonia, the Rajasthan BJP held a crucial core group meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday. The meeting is seen as a bid to effect a patch-up between Raje loyalists and her critics, especially from the RSS-backed group in the party. Raje who has skipped several important meetings at the Jaipur party office in the last two years, finally made an appearance but she reached over an hour late for Tuesday’s core group meeting.

    Raje’s delayed appearance was the result of her ‘power show’ as she came from Delhi to Jaipur by road. On the way, Raje supporters organised numerous felicitation programmes in different towns on the highway as Raje’s journey turned into a massive show of strength.

    Raje returned to Jaipur after several days in Delhi where she met most of the BJP’s top brass. On Sunday she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President JP Nadda and several other top leaders during BJP’s meet of national office bearers and state presidents. Her current chief rival in the state unit, Satish Poonia was also present at the same meeting of state presidents and national office bearers. Both factions were reportedly advised by the national leaders to evolve a patch up and keep a lid on internal differences.

    According to party sources, strategies for the upcoming four assembly by-polls to be held in the near future and presenting a united face of the party in the state were major items on the agenda of the core committee meeting. The meeting was significant also because it was held just a day before the Budget is presented in the state assembly on Wednesday.

    However, despite the advice to project a united face, Raje loyalists have in recent weeks been getting increasingly restless. A few weeks ago, Raje supporters in Kota had openly demanded that she should be declared as the BJP’s CM face for the next state elections. Just a few days ago, 20 BJP MLAs ( known to be close to Raje) had written a letter to the state BJP chief and alleged partisanship and bias in allowing MLAs to raise issues of public interest in the state assembly.

    On the eve of the crucial core group meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday, the infighting in the state unit resurfaced again. A former MLA, Vijay Bansal remarked, “ Vasundhara Raje is the only face in the state BJP who should be projected as CM. It is only under her leadership that the party can form a government in the state.”

    Most state leaders are now tight-lipped and are trying to up a brave front to hide the reality of factionalism in the Rajasthan BJP which has now been carried even into the state assembly. However, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria told the media in Jaipur that some party leaders are making too much of a display of their loyalty to some leaders. He also remarked that when elections are nearly three years away, projecting anyone as a CM face is a meaningless demand. Kataria said that “ in BJP a CM is not decided by just a few leaders but by the parliamentary Board. Also, now our party is also fighting many elections without projecting any leader as a CM face.”   

    Clearly, despite Raje attending the crucial core group meeting in Jaipur, the rift in the Rajasthan BJP is far from being bridged.

  • Over 20 BJP MLAs resent over ‘not being given’ time to speak in Rajasthan Assembly

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Infighting in Rajasthan BJP has deepened. A group of party MLAs close to former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has written to state BJP Chief Satish Poonia, demanding equal opportunity to speak in the state Assembly.

    In a letter, 20 MLAs have alleged partisanship and bias in allowing MLAs to raise issues of public interest in the state legislature.

    These MLAs claimed that some are getting the opportunity to raise issues repeatedly, while some are not given a single chance. Seeking an end of this discrimination, they have demanded that Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria and Deputy Leader Rajendra Singh Rathore be directed to evolve a fair system wherein all BJP MLAs get equal opportunity.

    Kailash Meghwal, a former Assembly speaker, is one of the MLAs to have signed this letter. Among the other 19 are former ministers Kalicharan Saraf, Pratap Singh Singhvi, Narpat Singh and Rampratap Kasania.

    Though the letter makes no mention of Vasundhara Raje, most of these MLAs are close to the former chief minister.

    In recent weeks, Raje loyalists have been targeting the state BJP unit on a variety of issues. While Assembly elections in Rajasthan are nearly three years away, Raje’s supporters have been lobbying for her to be the BJP’s CM face in future.

    Last Sunday, they held a meeting in Kota, which was attended by several BJP MLAs who decided to press the party high command to name Raje as the CM candidate. These legislators have for long claimed that she was unfairly side-lined, which is a reason why BJP lost in the recent municipal elections.

    Most sections of the state BJP unit are yet to react to the letter. Party spokesperson Ram Lal said: “Vasundhara Raje is acknowledged as a senior leader and is respected by all workers of the party. But the charge that she is being ignored is baseless.”

  • Vasundhara Raje stages a comeback, included in BJP core group for Rajasthan

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Former CM Vasundhara Raje has been included in the BJP’s high-powered core committee for the state unit in a sign that the party leadership is keen to patch up its internal rift in Rajasthan. 

    Since the BJP lost the Assembly elections two years ago, Raje was marginalized and kept out of state party forums. But the national president JP Nadda has now included her in the 16-member core committee.

    Besides Raje, three Union ministers from Rajasthan — Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kailash Chaudhari — are also a part of the BJP’s core group for Rajasthan. In addition, BJP state president Satish Poonia, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Gulabchand Kataria, Lok Sabha MPs Kankamal Katara and CP Joshi, Rajya Sabha MP Rajendra Gahlot are other members of this core group. 

    Political circles are now buzzing over the inclusion of Vasundhra Raje. Many see it as a sign that the party High Command is thinking of rehabilitating her in the state BJP unit. Raje’s inclusion comes barely a fortnight after she was not invited to a meeting in Delhi where Nadda had summoned three top leaders from the state. 

    In a direct challenge to the central BJP leadership, the supporters of Raje had openly asked the party high command to declare Raje as the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP in the next elections. Though Raje has remained silent on the issue, political observers say it is a show of defiance at her behest since she was upset at being sidelined. 

    Just a day after that Delhi meeting, Raje supporters had formed a ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Rajasthan Manch’. The announcement of the Manch formed by Raje supporters on Social Media with office bearers in 25 districts had led to major consternation and rift within the Rajasthan BJP. The current state BJP chief Satish Poonia had reacted sharply and pointed out that his loyalists too had made a similar forum in Poonia’s name on social media.

    Raje’s inclusion in the core group is now being seen as an effort to end the quarrel, especially between Raje loyalists and the RSS faction headed by Poonia. Besides local body elections, four by-elections for Rajasthan Assembly are forthcoming and this move is being seen as a bid to present a united face of the BJP in the state.

    In a letter to Poonia, the national general Secretary Arun Singh has instructed that the core group meetings should be held mandatorily once a month. The first meeting of the core group is slated for January 24.

  • Vasundhara Raje supporters pose challenge to BJP leadership in Rajasthan

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: In a direct challenge to the central leadership of the BJP, the supporters of former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje have openly asked the party high command to declare Raje as the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP in the next elections. Though Raje has remained silent on the issue, political observers say it is a show of defiance at her behest since she is upset at being marginalized by the BJP top brass.

    As reported earlier, Raje’s staunch supporters had formed a ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Rajasthan Manch’ just a day after current BJP chief of the state unit, Satish Poonia, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria and his deputy, Rajendra Rathore had been summoned to Delhi for a meeting with BJP President Nadda.

    The announcement of the Manch formed by Raje supporters with a list of state executive committee and presidents of 25 districts on social media has led to major consternation and rift within the Rajasthan BJP.

    BJP’s internal feud was today further ignited by a public statement by Raje’s former ministerial colleague and BJP MLA, Pratap Singh Singhvi, who asked the party to announce her as the BJP’s CM candidate for the next assembly elections in Rajasthan.

    Singhvi claimed “Raje was the most popular face of BJP in Rajasthan” and “the party stood a winning chance only if it went to the polls by projecting Raje as its supremo.” Rubbing salt into the wounds, Singhvi further advised BJP leaders to consult Raje in all organizational matters. In retort, state BJP president, Satish Poonia, stated none was bigger than the party “which had only one face, that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

    The new developments have stunned party members and most see it as an act of open revolt against the national leadership by the Raje faction as she has been side-lined by the party high command. Though state BJP chief Satish Poonia prefers to downplay the issue by feigning ignorance of the formation of such an organisation, it is clear that the rift is widening. The defiance and launch of the ‘Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Rajasthan Manch’ is an open exhibition of Raje’s irritation at being ignored in the state politics by the party leaders. 

  • 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.