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Tag: Satish Poonia

  • Birthday bash not show of strength, says Raje as BJP faces popularity test in Rajasthan

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: With polls in Rajasthan slated for December this year, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday said that her recently concluded birthday celebrations was not a show of strength and that it was about her devotion. 

    This comes after Raje’s birthday bash on March 4 saw over fifty thousand people including several MLAs and MPs gather at the Slasar Dham in Churu, forcing the BJP high command to think about her popularity.

    Speaking to the media Raje said, “It is not a show of strength, but devotion. It is not right to publicize it in the media as a show of strength.” Raje’s powerplay comes at a time when the internal dispute is rife within the BJP with several party members jockeying to become the party’s chief ministerial face. Among those is state BJP president Satish Poonia, whose tussle with Raje has been well documented. 

    In a bid to counter Raje’s birthday bash, Poonia organised a protest on the same day against the Gehlot administration over the issue of paper leak, with instructions issued to all party lawmakers to participate in the protest.

    However, the Raje camp has claimed that as many as 12 MPs, 52 MLAs and 118 former MLAs of the party had taken part in the BJP leader’s birthday celebrations. This also included BJP’s State in-charge Arun Singh who visited Salasar to congratulate Raje and project a show of solidarity.

    Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP’s state in-charge Arun Singh have said that the assembly elections to be held this year will be fought under the collective leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Raje’s supporters have been persistently demanding the party to make her the chief ministerial face and argue that no leader within the Rajasthan BJP camp is of her stature.

    Experts believe that by holding a grand rally in Salasar, Raje has given a befitting reply to her opponents in the party and also sent a message of her popularity to the central leadership. This comes as the role of Leader of the Opposition continues to be vacant after senior BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria became the Governor of Assam. It is to be seen whether the BJP leadership will hand a bigger role to Raje ahead of the assembly elections.

    JAIPUR: With polls in Rajasthan slated for December this year, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday said that her recently concluded birthday celebrations was not a show of strength and that it was about her devotion. 

    This comes after Raje’s birthday bash on March 4 saw over fifty thousand people including several MLAs and MPs gather at the Slasar Dham in Churu, forcing the BJP high command to think about her popularity.

    Speaking to the media Raje said, “It is not a show of strength, but devotion. It is not right to publicize it in the media as a show of strength.” Raje’s powerplay comes at a time when the internal dispute is rife within the BJP with several party members jockeying to become the party’s chief ministerial face. Among those is state BJP president Satish Poonia, whose tussle with Raje has been well documented. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    In a bid to counter Raje’s birthday bash, Poonia organised a protest on the same day against the Gehlot administration over the issue of paper leak, with instructions issued to all party lawmakers to participate in the protest.

    However, the Raje camp has claimed that as many as 12 MPs, 52 MLAs and 118 former MLAs of the party had taken part in the BJP leader’s birthday celebrations. This also included BJP’s State in-charge Arun Singh who visited Salasar to congratulate Raje and project a show of solidarity.

    Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP’s state in-charge Arun Singh have said that the assembly elections to be held this year will be fought under the collective leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Raje’s supporters have been persistently demanding the party to make her the chief ministerial face and argue that no leader within the Rajasthan BJP camp is of her stature.

    Experts believe that by holding a grand rally in Salasar, Raje has given a befitting reply to her opponents in the party and also sent a message of her popularity to the central leadership. This comes as the role of Leader of the Opposition continues to be vacant after senior BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria became the Governor of Assam. It is to be seen whether the BJP leadership will hand a bigger role to Raje ahead of the assembly elections.

  • BJP will not bring down Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, it will fall due to infighting: Satish Poonia

    Satish Poonia said on Tuesday that his party will not bring down the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan.

  • Captain Amarinder Singh’s fate has left Ashok Gehlot worried about his own: Satish Poonia

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: After Capt Amarinder Singh quit as the Punjab chief minister, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot is worried about his own fate, state BJP president Satish Poonia said on Sunday.

    “The developments in Punjab show that even senior Congress leaders are disillusioned with the party. The Congress is counting last breaths and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is more worried about his chair,” he told reporters here.

    Poonia said whether the Rajasthan Cabinet reshuffle will ever take place has become a Rs 1 crore question of Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.

    “There is neither an answer to it nor will people be able to get a reward,” he said.

    He also accused the Congress of lacking intra-party democracy.

    Talking about his own party, Poonia said the BJP is to hold a brainstorming session soon to discuss the strategy for the 2023 assembly elections.

    “The focus of the ‘Chintan Baithak’ will be on the strategy for the 2023 assembly elections. Apart from it, discussions on such social and political issues, on which there is a need to work more proactively, will be held,” he said.

    The party sources said the meeting will be held in Kumbhalgarh in Rajsamand district on September 21 and 22, which will be chaired by the party’s national general secretary (Organisation) B L Santosh.

    The state office bearers of the party and core group members will attend the meeting.

  • 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)

  • 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. 

  • Rajasthan BJP has received feedback reports from bypoll constituencies: Poonia

    Poonia said that the BJP has already completed its groundwork in the constituencies before the announcement of the by-elections.

  • Satish Poonia vs Vasundhara Raje: Rift in Rajasthan BJP ranks visible even on Nadda visit

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR:  BJP chief JP Nadda was in Jaipur on Tuesday trying to bridge a growing rift in the party’s Rajasthan unit.

    Addressing a meeting of the state executive at the Birla auditorium, he stressed the need for unity as he tried to motivate leaders and workers ahead of the four assembly by-elections.

    Infighting in Rajasthan BJP has grown uglier of late, with state chief Satish Poonia and former CM Vasundhara Raje at loggerheads. Raje supporters claim the party has sidelined her and are openly demanding that she should be the CM face in the 2023 Assembly polls.

    The divide was visible when state leaders went to the airport to receive Nadda. Raje and Poonia supporters stood in different corners.

    Though Nadda did not name any leader, he dropped enough hints and asked all sections to project a united face of the party. He advised party leaders that any ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ policy by any leader will not work.

    “A person becomes a leader only through his actions and by taking everyone together,” said Nadda. He said that many leaders have given up self-analysing.

    “Knowingly or unknowingly, we assume that we know everything. This is the beginning of stagnation. The truth is our productivity decreases,” he said.

    “I request everyone here to do self-analysis. What is your commitment, your relevance? Politics is a place where you have to relevant.”

    “Relevance means how much are you contributing to the party. How much are you acceptable. As a leader, you will have to develop the quality of taking along everyone which will increase your acceptance,” he said in a candid address.

    “This has harmed us and I believe everyone should focus on self-analysis to make the party stronger.”

    The meeting was attended by the party’s central office-bearers from Rajasthan and functionaries of the state unit.

    BJP national general secretary and state in-charge Arun Singh, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kailash Chaudhary, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, leader of opposition in state assembly Gulabchand Kataria, deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore and other leaders were present on the stage.

    Nadda’s visit assumes significance as it came ahead of Raje’s planned ‘dharmik yatra’ next week, seen as an attempt to re-assert her influence in the state unit after maintaining a low profile since the BJP’s defeat in 2018 assembly polls.

    Raje and her loyalists are planning a show of strength on March 8 on her birthday. 

    The party, which will soon be facing bypolls in four assembly seats, has distanced itself from Raje’s ‘yatra’, saying it was a “personal matter”.

    In signs of growing factionalism in the party, Raje’s supporters have raised the demand to declare her as the CM candidate for the next elections.

    A 20-odd MLAs recently expressed resentment against the state leadership for allegedly not being allowed to raise public interest issues in the assembly.

    “Are we working with maturity? There should be self-analysis,” Nadda said at the meeting while stressing that the leaders should keep on striving to enhance their relevance, acceptance and maturity.

    He said that one becomes a leader by actions.

    “Leadership is developed when you take everyone along,” Nadda said, adding “the BJP is a cadre-based party and it is our responsibility to strengthen that cadre.”

    Speaking on the agitation against the agri laws, the BJP national president alleged that farmer leaders have “only done politics” and said it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who took steps for the welfare of the farmers.

    He claimed that the reforms initiated by the central government will change the fortune of the farmers.

    Nadda also targeted Congress for changing its stand on the issue.

    “Did they not promise to abolish APMC in their manifesto?” he asked. He directed the party leaders to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level.

    Expressing confidence that the BJP will return to power in Rajsthan, he directed the party unit to strengthen Mandals by April 15, complete the formation of booth level committees by September 25 and activate ‘Panna Pramukhs’ by December 25.

    The assembly elections are due in Rajasthan in 2023.

    Praising Prime Minister Modi for the handling of the COVID pandemic, the BJP chief said that he saved the country by timely imposing lockdown and encouraged scientists in India to develop vaccines which resulted in the world’s largest vaccination programme.

    He also spoke about the central government introducing the world’s largest healthcare programme through the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

    Targeting the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan, he alleged that its priority is not to deliver good governance.

    He also targeted the state government on the issue of crimes against women and atrocities against Dalits.

    Addressing the meeting, the BJP’s state president Satish Poonia said the party will hold demonstrations across the state against the Congress government from 6 to 14 March.

    Earlier, Nadda, who arrived at Jaipur airport from Delhi, was given a grand welcome by the party workers at several locations from the airport to the Birla auditorium meeting venue.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Day after state budget, Rajasthan BJP says chances of mid-term election cannot be ruled out

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: A day after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot presented a populist budget in the Assembly, the opposition BJP claimed on Thursday that the chances of a mid-term election in the state cannot be ruled out.

    Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, BJP state president Satish Poonia said the Budget for 2021-22 presented by Gehlot was like an election budget.

    “It is clear from the face, gesture and the body language of the chief minister that mid-term elections may happen in the state,” he said, adding there are indications of this in the budget too.

    Taking a dig at Gehlot by calling him a “Ghoshnajeevi” over a series of announcements made in the budget, Poonia claimed that 78 such announcements made in his first and second budgets are yet to be fulfilled.

    Responding to this, Labour Minister Tikaram Jully asserted that the Congress government in the state will complete its full term of five years.

    “The government is stable, and there is no situation for mid-term elections,” he said.

    Former minister and BJP MLA Vasudev Devnani also claimed that mid-term elections in the state may happen.

    “Looking at the situations in the state, mid-term elections may take place,” he added.

    Congress MLA Khiladi Lal Bairava also ruled out any possibility of mid-term elections, and said the BJP was daydreaming.

  • 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.”