BJP treasurer Ramdas Agrawal has resigned as the central party in-charge of Rajasthan as a fallout of the infighting in the state unit. Sources said he would be succeeded by general secretary Pramod Mahajan who shares a good rapport with state president Vasundhara Raje.The in-fighting manifested itself in full measure yesterday when Vasundhara excluded important party leaders like former deputy chief minister Hari Shankar Bhabhra and former state unit vice-president Ghanshyam Tewari from her fresh executive. Vasundhara, who had been propped up by vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to sideline the established BJP leaders belonging to groups other than his, reciprocated his patronage by liberally accommodating his followers. The beneficiaries included Shekhawat’s son-in-law Narpat Singh Rajvi, who was named a general secretary.Though Agrawal sent a letter to BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu requesting him to be relieved of the charge following the appointment of his brother, Mohan Das Agrawal, as treasurer of the state BJP, the development is seen as a culmination of the tussle between him and Vasundhara.Ever since her appointment to the post, she had been pressing Naidu for his removal so she could work freely. On the other hand, Agrawal, a former Rajasthan BJP president, had been resisting the move. At the end of the day, Vasundhara apparently had her way.Agrawal had, in fact, accepted the charge of Gujarat only on the condition that he would be also allotted Rajasthan. He would not say this in the open, but Agrawal had his sights set on the chief ministership which, he thought, could come his way with Shekhawat donning the vice-presidency. At a time when the anti-incumbency factor is working against the ruling Congress, he felt that it was time he made a bid for the top post in the desert state. Vasundhara, precisely, for the same reason, was wary of his presence on the scene.The dissidents, however, are unlikely to mount a challenge against Vasundhara given their lack of a support base. The only person who could cause her some discomfort, former state president Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi, has thrown his lot with her. Therefore, the real challenge for her lies in taking on the Congress to cash on the disenchantment with the Ashok Gehlot government.
