Few takers for Vasundhara in Rajasthan BJP

While most senior state leaders have not commented in public, former deputy CM Hari Shankar Bhabhra has registered his opposition. And Vasundhara’s supporters have retaliated by burning Bhabhra’s effigy at the state party headquarters.

A worried BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, has now asked general secretary Arun Jaitley to broker peace between the two sides. Bhabhra reiterated his stand on phone that Verma had no right to declare the name of the next CM, who will be elected by legislators.

Asked about Vasundhara continuing as a minister, he said: ‘‘The Rajasthan BJP presidency is not a part-time job. Even Naidu and Jaitley gave up their ministerial posts for organisational work.’’ The BJP, he pointed out, has a one-man-one-post policy.

While Vasundhara has been evasive in public, she has reportedly told Naidu that she would not resign from the ministry. For public posturing, she is prepared to send in her resignation on the condition that it would not be accepted. Along side, she has demanded a free hand in the formation of the state executive and removal of treasurer Ramdas Agrawal as the central party in-charge.

A beneficiary of the indulgence shown by the leadership towards Vasundhara is Chhattisgarh BJP president Raman Singh whose resignation from the ministry has been gathering dust for several months.

Meanwhile, Bhabhra’s outburst is only the tip of the iceberg. Most senior state BJP leaders are ill at ease over Vasundhara’s installation as the state party chief. They include leader of the BJP legislature party Gulab Chand Kataria, former state presidents Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi and Raghuvir Singh Kaushal, former minister Ghanshyam Tewari and ex-general secretary (organisation) Om Mathur.