Jaipur: Ahead of the elections, BJP in Rajasthan staged an aggressive protest against the state government on various issues in Jaipur on Monday. The protest was led by all the senior leaders of the party except former CM Vasundhara Raje, who was reportedly in Delhi according to her close ones.
The party had launched a 15-day campaign, 'Nahin Sahega Rajasthan', against the state government on the issues of crime against women, question paper leaks, appeasement politics, and others, and this protest was organised to conclude this campaign.
Rajasthan: BJP Stages Aggressive Protests Against Gehlot Government Sans Vasundhara Raje | FPJ
'Nahin Sahega Rajasthan Campaign'
Thousands of BJP workers from across the state gathered in Jaipur to gherao the government secretariat, and the police had to resort to lathi charges and use water cannons to disperse the BJP workers. The protest lasted for about two hours, and some of the leaders and workers sustained minor injuries due to the police's lathi charge. The protest ended with the symbolic arrests of party leaders and workers.
All the senior leaders of the state, including the Party’s state chief CP Joshi, leader of the opposition Rajendra Rathor, deputy leader of the opposition Satish Punia, union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and party in-charge Arun Singh, led the protest and claimed a landslide victory in the upcoming assembly elections.
Vasundhara Raje's Absence Causes Stir
However, the absence of Vasundhara Raje from this mega show of the party has once again fueled factionalism in the party. This was a major event of the party before the elections against the state government, so her presence was expected, as the party is claiming to be united and emphasizing collective leadership in the elections.
A source close to Vasundhara Raje said that the party had not intimated her well in time, and she had to leave to look after her ailing daughter-in-law in Delhi.
People ready to remove Congress from state
While the party leaders ignored the media's question regarding Raje's absence from the protest, Arun Singh addressed the media, saying, "Look at the huge crowd coming to Jaipur against the Congress government in the state. People are ready to remove Congress from the state."
Notably, the party is yet to form committees for the elections but appears confused about the role to be assigned to Vasundhara Raje, who is still considered the party's only crowd-pulling leader in the state. The party wants to keep her in the front but is not willing to declare her as the face, as it has decided to contest the elections with the face of PM Narendra Modi and the party symbol.
