New Delhi: Days after the opposition came together on a single platform to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Tamil Nadu chief minister, a similar event is likely to be held in remote Rajasthan today in a show of strength by the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan and senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje is celebrating its 70th birthday a little early on March 4 – it’s actually March 8, but this year Holi also falls on the same day – but Salaskar Dham Balaji TempleAn important pilgrimage center of Hanuman in Churu district. On the same day, a protest has been organized by the youth wing of the party in the state capital Jaipur.
The choice of venue has raised eyebrows as it is the home district of Raje’s rival and party’s state chief Satish Poonia, and also of Rajendra Rathore, deputy leader of the opposition in the assembly. Rathore has been elected from Taranagar constituency in Churu and Poonia hails from Rajgarh village in the district.
The Raje camp has been planning the event for weeks and lakhs of people are expected to attend the party which includes a series of events. However, what can spoil the celebrations is a BJP protest Planned to walk out of the assembly on the same day against the alleged paper leak.
The celebration is being seen as a show of strength by Vasundhara Raje’s detractors in the state unit and the BJP high command, which has not projected her as its chief ministerial candidate for the assembly polls due later this year.
At the same time, the Raje camp has called Sunday’s program a ‘birthday function’, while the party is calling it a ‘private function’.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to strike a balance, the BJP has sent state in-charge Arun Singh who will attend both the events.
mass prayer
Firstly, as mentioned above, the selection of Churu as the venue is politically significant. Raje has celebrated most of his birthdays at Tripura Sundari Temple in Banswara and Baneshwar Dham in Dungarpur. This year in Churu, she will address a public meeting after offering prayers at the temple.
Former ministers and MLAs are working tirelessly to gather crowd for the meeting and make it a memorable event. Party sources told ThePrint that Raje’s supporters have divided the districts among themselves so that they can gather a large crowd for the event.
East Sikar is being handled by Kali Charan Saraf BJP State President Ashok Parnami is handling the command of Jhunjhunu district, Yunus Khan Nagaur and Churu MP Rahul Kaswan are handling the preparations in their district.
Similarly former minister Rajpal Lion Shekhawat Jaipur, Kailash is handling chandra Meghwal is handling Bhilwara, and Pratap Singh Singhvi is mobilizing people from Kota, and Bundi districts.
Folk artists have been called from Shekhawati of the state and Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, to play Holi after Prayer And Offering prayers to God in front of fire, Priests have also been called to conduct mass lessons. Hanuman Chalisa, copies of Hanuman Chalisa will also be distributed.
Preparations have been going on for weeks and more than one lakh people are expected to turn up. Raje’s supporters are distributing Paka Rice At bus stand in many districts to invite people for the programme. Hoardings have also been put up in front of the BJP office in Salaskar and Jaipur.
Kali Charan Saraf, a former minister in the Raje cabinet, told ThePrint,There is no doubt that Vasundhara Raje is the biggest leader of BJP in Rajasthan but this program is not political. Every year, his supporters celebrate VasundharaYesHer birthday…but she is turning 70 this year, so it is special and people will gather to celebrate this year as well.
Yunus Khan told ThePrint, “Since Holi falls on the same day this year, we are celebrating his birthday on March 4. there will be a Offering prayers to God in front of fire And Prayer In the temple. After this she will play Holi with her supporters and party workers present there. People will come from Vrindavan and Shekhawati to play Holi… There will be mass recitation of Hanuman Chalisa. we will distribute 1 lakh copies of it Hanuman Chalisa,
Invitations have been sent to all MLAs and senior party leaders.
collision of events
Meanwhile, the youth wing of the party has organized a strike The sit-in outside the Assembly on Sunday against the paper leak issue has been organized by Poonia loyalist and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state president Himanshu Sharma and is seen as a ploy to prevent leaders from attending Raje’s event .
Party sources told ThePrint that at a meeting of BJP MLAs last Tuesday, Poonia asked them to turn up at the dharna in large numbers – in a way discouraging them from attending Raje’s celebration. However, several MLAs have reportedly made it clear that they are going to Salasar, he said.
A leader close to Vasundhara told ThePrint, “Our schedule was announced long back. The party’s dharna was announced later… To show unity in the party, it could have been fixed on some other date but some leaders want to ruin Vasundharaji’s birthday programme. They will not be successful.
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birthday or show of strength
A Raje loyalist told ThePrint that the occasion may be a birthday, but the political message should be clear – who is the real leader? Sent by the high command in Delhi or knowing the pulse of the people?
A pro-Raje MLA told ThePrint, “Poonia has been trying to isolate Raje in the party for the last three years. But ultimately, the party is looking at its performance in the state. The BJP lost six of the seven bypolls held since 2018. this is the situation life resentment The Yatra led by Poonia also did not get any major response, Just as he realized in Karnataka that former CM Yeddyurappa had a better connect with the people than current CM Basavaraj Bommai, he would soon realize that he could not win in Rajasthan without Raje’s active involvement.
A former minister in Raje’s cabinet told ThePrint, “There are only six months left for the assembly elections. While Poonia and Union Minister of State, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has suggested that the campaign be based on PM Modi, we are pressing for a bigger role for Raje. Without a clear signal – letting him manage the campaign or appointing him state unit chief – voters will be confused.
He claimed that a large section of women voted for Raje. Won with a huge majority in 2013. ,The party has to consider many factors… You cannot underestimate the capabilities of Gehlot (CM Ashok Gehlot). A collective leadership will not work against a strong opponent like him. He said, even if people vote for ModiYes, They still want a local leader as the face of the party.
Another party MLA said, “Last year more than 22 MLAs and former MLAs attended Raje’s birthday celebrations. This being an election year, all of them are unsure about the ticket hence pushing to get them back in the saddle.
One State BJP Vice President A person close to the Poonia camp told ThePrint, “After experiencing serious infighting in the Rajasthan unit, the party high command is calling the shots. PM and Home Minister come often.
On the high command’s strategy for the state unit, he said, “The high command now wants a generational change. It wants a leader who can run the party for at least a decade in the state. Vasundhara Raje He has been the chief minister twice.
He said that the party high command has also tried to maintain caste balance. “The party has inducted Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (a Rajput), Arjun Ram Meghwal, a Dalit, and Kailash Chowdhary, a Jat, into the Union cabinet. Then again, both Poonia and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar are Jats. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla comes from the Vaish community…but the party plans to contest the elections in the name of Modi.
Regardless of the political message of the celebration or protest, state unit general secretary Bhajanlal Sharma told ThePrint, “The party has planned a big protest and workers have been asked to assemble for it. But if someone wants to go and wish VasundharaYes, he can do that. This is his personal work.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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