Raje puts her foot down on leader change issue

Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has put her foot down on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) reported move to shift her out of the state. The party believes this would be an honourable way to end the protracted infighting in the party.

Raje, who is apparently angry about the proposal, has already launched a signature campaign of MLAs to prove her popularity and majority before the party’s central leaders. Raje is expected to come to Delhi on summons from BJP leader Rajnath Singh.

According to sources, Raje, who is in a defiant mood, has claimed that as long as she continues to enjoy the support and confidence of the legislators, the party had no right to remove her.

“I have been elected by the MLAs and not handpicked by the party,” she is reported to have told her supporters in Jaipur.

Raje is the leader of BJP legislative party in the Rajasthan Assembly.

BJP sources said Vasundhara was likely to meet L K Advani, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who is believed to be in favour of her continuing, before meeting Singh.

The latter is alleged to be favouring a change in party leadership in Rajasthan. The camp led by Rajnath Singh believe that Raje’s autocratic style of functioning and her poor performance as chief minister had led to BJP’s poll debacle first in the state Assembly elections and recently in the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP had just won four out of the 25 seats in Rajasthan in the general election after losing to Congress in the state election.

Party sources said Vasundhara Raje’s virtual revolt against the party brass would complicate matters and her attitude was worrying leaders as it comes before the party’s brainstorming session — chintan baithak — in Shimla next week.

However, sources said BJP leaders would try to reason with Raje and mollify her by offering a suitable organisation post in Delhi.