KOTA: Reacting for the first time since BJP broke a decades-old tradition of carrying her pictures on the party posters, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Thursday said she did not care for posters as being in the hearts of the people was more important.
The disappearance of Raje’s image from posters at the BJP office in Jaipur had led to a poster war that has been haunting the saffron party for the past two months.
Speaking to media after visiting the rain-hit areas of south-eastern Rajasthan, she said such things (poster war) did not affect her political stature.
“In my 30 years of public life, I have learnt that it is necessary to take everyone along in political life,” she said, apparently sending out a message to the state unit that she would not be sidelined.
“When I came into politics, Rajmataji (Vijaya Raje Scindia) told me that five fingers of the hand are never equal and when you visit the villages, you need to unite people into a family with love for each other, despite their differences,”Raje said.
Raje, also BJP's national vice president, was speaking to the media in her home constituency of Jhalawar after her two-day visit to flood affected areas in Jhalawar-Baran.
"When people are in pain, in sorrow, they needed to be given a healing touch," she said.
On the poster row in the state BJP, the former CM reminded of her first tour to state capital Jaipur after winning the election and becoming the chief minister on the first as well as the second time and said there were several large-sized posters of her all around the city but she instantly demanded that the posters be removed.
"All of you do know it very well that even at that time I had asked to take down those posters," she said.
"I am to rule hearts of the people and carry out such work that the people can bear it in mind and when the people bear me in mind, they would love me and I would be able to make way to their hearts," Raje said, claiming the biggest thing for her is that the people remember her.
"What bigger fortune other than this would be for me and what these posters would do (against it)," Raje said.
"I am to rule the hearts, not in the posters and this is what I have been trying and this has been my only aim," Raje said.
A war of words erupted between Rajasthan BJP workers and Raje's supporters after her photos were removed from the state's party posters in Jaipur around two months ago.
(With PTI Inputs)