Uma gears up to take

Starting June 23, Bharati would hold a series of rallies in four Assembly segments of Jhalawar district, which has been the home turf of the Rajasthan CM for nearly three decades.

Apart from addressing a series of meetings, Bharati will visit several temples in the area, a gimmick which has been a feature of Raje’s local politics.

It would be the first visit to Rajasthan by the former BJP leader, who now heads the Bharatiya Janatantrik Party.

‘‘Our chief is visiting Rajasthan to strengthen our party. She would also disclose our future strategy in the state,’’ state general secretary of Bharati’s fledgling party said.

So why is Bharati starting off from her rival’s constituency? The official line is that since Jhalawar is on the Madhya Pradesh border, the party can draw on her support base in the region. But many believe that Bharati has chosen Jhalawar with the intention of creating trouble for Raje in the next election. Her eyes would be specifically on the hardcore Sangh base and the OBC votes in the area.

‘‘Bharati has not forgiven her rivals in the BJP. She wants to settle some old scores by attacking their political base,’’ sources in the BJP said.

Incidentally, the sadhvi’s advisor in Rajasthan is a former Raje loyalist, Chandra Raj Singhvi. Singhvi was officially the political advisor to Raje before and after the last Vidhan Sabha elections. He, however, turned into a foe when the CM threw him out of the BJP a few months ago after they fell out with each other.

Singhvi has since been seeking revenge with the boast that if he could make her career, he was also capable of ruining it.

In spite of all the hype, the BJP said it was taking the rebel leader’s visit lightly. ‘‘Like any other politician, she is also welcome to come and go,’’ senior party leader and Cabinet minister Rajendra Rathore said.