Rajasthan BJP set to shed Vasundhara Raje baggage
Sources in the party say that Ms Raje's negative image among the cadre had caused its recent defeat in the Assembly polls.
New Delhi: With Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government voted out of power in Rajasthan, the state party unit is soon likely to undergo a complete overhaul with the trademark stamp of the Central leadership.
Sources stated that with just months to go for Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s Rajasthan BJP unit is expected to come out of the shadow of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and the Central leadership is expected to have a greater say in reorganisation of the state unit.
The overhaul of the state BJP is being seen by many as assertion of power by the party’s top brass at a time when Ms Raje has lost much of her say due to the recent loss in the Assembly polls.
Sources in the party say that Ms Raje’s negative image among the cadre had caused its recent defeat in the Assembly polls and keeping her loyalists in place could adversely affect the BJP’s prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“The change may reflect the Centre taking charge of the state leadership ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Right from mandal to district to state level, the leadership is likely to see a change. The old guard is expected to make way for the new set up as the party prepares to regain lost ground and make gains in the state that it recently lost to the Congress,” sources added.
Months ahead of the state Assembly elections, Rajsathan had seen an ugly power tussle between BJP chief Amit Shah and Ms Raje over the appointment of the state president. The Central leadership had to bow and were not able to install their selected candidate in the post of Rajasthan unit chief as Ms Raje didn’t give a go-ahead.
The battle for installation of state unit president between the two factions had become so ugly that the post remained vacant for over six months ahead of the crucial polls, which the BJP lost to the Congress. Finally, Madan Lal Saini was accepted by both as a compromise candidate.
Rajasthan is considered an important part of the BJP’s plan to return to power at the Centre and the Amit Shah-led unit doesn’t want to lose control in the state that had elected all 25 of BJP’s MPs in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP was only able to secure 75 seats out of 200 in the recently held state Assembly polls.