A 16-member core group of the Bharatiya Janata Party, formed to address infighting and factionalism in the party’s Rajasthan unit, has started making strategies to counter the ruling Congress in the run-up to by-election in four State Assembly constituencies.
The core group held its first meeting here on Sunday.
The upcoming budget session of the Assembly, starting on February 10, is also likely to give an opportunity to BJP to raise some important issues. BJP has completed its initial round of election campaign by organising party workers’ meetings in three of these constituencies.
BJP State president Satish Poonia said the State government’s failure to fulfil the promises made in the Congress manifesto, “mishandling” of the COVID-19 pandemic and the deteriorating law and order situation would be some of the issues to be raised in the Assembly. “In the feedback received from the poll-bound Assembly seats, we have learnt that the people are angry with the government,” he said.
The group members felt that the non-waiver of farm loans, failure to disburse unemployment allowance and rising cases of crimes against women could create trouble for the government.
BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, who attended the meeting as a special invitee, sought to downplay factionalism in the party. He said at a press conference that the existence of difference of opinion within the State unit was an indication of “internal democracy” in which all views were respected.
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, also a member of the core group, skipped the meeting.
Members missing
Two other members conspicuous by their absence were Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav.
Ms. Raje has been skipping most of the party events ever since the Congress was elected power in December 2018.
The core group includes Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kailash Chaudhary, Rajya Sabha MPs Om Prakash Mathur and Rajendra Gehlot and Lok Sabha MPs Kanak Mal Katara and Chandra Prakash Joshi as its members.
