Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was left out of two election linked panels in Rajasthan on Thursday. The BJP announced the formation of an election management committee and election manifesto committee for the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly polls. BJP State president C.P. Joshi and Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore were also left out.
The 21-member election management committee will be headed by former MP Narayan Panchariya, while Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will lead the election manifesto panel. The two committees were set up on the instructions of BJP national president J.P. Nadda.
Mr. Joshi, accompanied by BJP State in-charge Arun Singh, made the announcement at the party’s State headquarters here. The party is likely to set up an election campaign committee and screening committee shortly to select candidates.
Ms. Raje’s absence in the two committees has led to speculation about her role in the BJP’s election strategy as well as doubts about her projection as the party’s chief ministerial face. Sources in the BJP said Ms. Raje would be accommodated in the election campaign committee and get a role “befitting her stature”.
Mr. Singh told journalists that Ms. Raje, in her capacity as the BJP national vice-president, would campaign during the election. “She has a big role to play. She has been the Rajasthan Chief Minister twice,” Mr. Singh said, about Ms. Raje’s absence from the committees.
Mr. Singh said the committee would work with great resolve towards victory in the polls. “People in Rajasthan are fed up with the Congress government, which has failed on all fronts and broken its promises,” he said.
Rajya Sabha Members Ghanshyam Tiwari and Kirodi Lal Meena, former Union Minister and Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were among senior BJP leaders appointed as members of panels. The two other important party leaders not finding a place in committees were Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who represents Jodhpur in Lok Sabha, and former BJP State president Satish Poonia, who is at present the Deputy Leader of Opposition.
