JAIPUR : BJP president JP Nadda’s appeal for unity appears to have failed to end the infighting in Rajasthan BJP. Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje will begin a two-day Dev Darshan Yatra from Sunday, which is timed to coincide with her birthday on March 8 and is set to be a show of strength.
Raje will visit several temples in Bharatpur and Dholpur districts in east Rajasthan. While there will be no political rallies during Raje’s yatra, her loyalists are sparing no effort in getting supporters and people to gather in huge numbers and welcome Raje at every venue she visits. The aim is clearly to project her popularity.
To counter Raje, her arch rival and BJP state unit chief Satish Poonia will also be on a three-day trip of south Rajasthan, beginning Saturday. During the trip, he plans to visit the famous Tripura Sundari temple, where he will seek blessings for the upcoming Assembly bypolls, which are crucial for his future. In addition, the party has launched a week-long ‘halla bol’ campaign across the state from March 6 to 14. It’s apparently aimed at exposing the Congress government’s misdeeds, though political observers see it as an attempt to ensure that not too many workers flock to Raje’s yatra.
Miffed at her alleged sidelining in the party, Raje loyalists have been demanding that she should be the party’s CM face in 2023. They are planning to celebrate her birthday as ‘Swabhiman Diwas’.Nadda, who had visited Jaipur on Tuesday, had got Raje and Poonia to join and raise hands together in order to bridge the growing rift in the state unit. But the two camps have instead upped the ante.