After the appointment of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as BJP national vice-president, speculations are rife here about the choice for the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly. The first session of the new Assembly is set to begin on January 15.
With Ms. Raje’s shift to the Centre, BJP’s politics in the State is likely to take a new turn, paving the way for emergence of a leadership acceptable to the party cadre. The party’s central leadership has sent across a clear message for testing Ms. Raje’s abilities for managing the affairs in the run-up to this year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Ms. Raje was earlier keen to stay put and play the lead role in the State as the LoP. Last year, the central leadership had found it difficult to appoint the BJP State president of its choice, as Ms. Raje held her ground and opposed the appointment of Union Minister of State Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to the post. A compromise was later reached with the appointment of Madan Lal Saini.
The former Chief Minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for her appointment as the party’s vice-president on Friday. “I will execute the responsibilities assigned to me with full commitment,” Ms. Raje said.
The front-runners for the LoP’s post include former Ministers Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Rathore and outgoing Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal. While Mr. Meghwal is one of the oldest members of the House, Mr. Rathore is considered a close aide of Ms. Raje. Mr. Kataria, who earlier had Chief Ministerial ambitions, had come to terms with his position in the party and served as the Home Minister.
BJP meeting
The LoP’s name is likely to be finalised in Delhi and announced in the first meeting of the BJP Legislature Party here on January 13. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, appointed by the party’s Parliamentary Board as central observer for LoP’s election, will be present at the meeting.
Ms. Raje, who played an active role in the State’s politics during the last 15 years, was appointed the BJP State chief in 2002.
The party won 73 seats in the recent Assembly polls, losing out to the Congress which got 99 seats.
