The impasse over the appointment of a State unit chief for the BJP in Rajasthan is likely to continue for some time, with a meeting between the party’s national chief Amit Shah and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje remaining inconclusive.
Party-in-charge for Rajasthan, Avinash Rai Khanna, said that the meeting on Wednesday was “not to discuss the leadership issue” but to review the party’s preparedness for the upcoming Assembly polls. “The meeting today was about reviewing the party’s preparations. We are launching some outreach programmes to talk about the performance of both the Central and the State government,” he said.
Different agenda
He said that a decision on a State unit chief will be taken soon, but that it did not come up in the meeting on Wednesday.
The appointment has become a tricky issue between the Central leadership and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
After the last State unit chief Ashok Parnami — considered close to Ms. Raje — was asked to quit in the wake of humiliating bypoll losses in Rajasthan, a replacement who pleases both sides has been hard to find.
The name of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Gajendra Shekhawat, was put forward by New Delhi but was not acceptable to Ms. Raje.
Compromise possible
Sources in the party said that the RSS too has cautioned the party that a compromise candidacy be worked out as it was not advisable to have the Chief Minister at odds with the party chief in an election year. Elections to the Rajasthan Assembly are due at the end of the year along with Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.
