Chatterbox: Of Congress' iftaar party, BJP's search for Rajasthan president

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In poll-bound Rajasthan, considered crucial for the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) there is no state president. Ashok Parnami resigned from the post on April 16 following adverse by-election results. But for two months, the party is dithering over a new incumbent because there is a difference of opinion between BJP chief Amit Shah and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Parnami was considered close to the Chief Minister. A recent meeting between the two leaders could not resolve the problem. Shah believes Gajendra Singh Shekhawat should be the new state chief. However, Raje  believes Shekhawat, a Rajput, could alienate the  Jat community in Rajasthan that is quite powerful. Shekhawat is said to have the backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Oddly enough
 

Congress politics was evident at Rahul Gandhi’s iftaar where former President Pranab Mukherjee was also present. Although many senior Congress leaders were present such as Anand Sharma, P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, none of them went up to meet the former President. It may be recalled that both Chidambaram and Ramesh had publicly voiced their opposition to Mukherjee’s visit to the Nagpur headquarters of the RSS. Seating arrangements were…odd. Rahul Gandhi was seated next to Pranab Mukherjee along with Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamol Congress) , Satish Mishra (Bahujan Samaj Party), Kanimozhi (DMK) and Sitaram Yechury (CPI M). Manmohan Singh hosted another table with the other allies.  Anand Sharma (as former Foreign Minister) hosted a third for the diplomats and heads of missions .