JAIPUR: Ghanshyam Tiwari, who has been named the BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate from Rajasthan, was a vocal critic of Vasundhara Raje before he quit the party in June 2018 and later rejoined it in 2020.
Tiwari, a six-time legislator, had floated Bharat Vahini Parthi after resigning from the BJP due to his growing differences with the party's state and central leadership.
He merged the Vahini with the Congress in 2019 in the presence of then Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
He had then alleged that crony capitalism had increased under the Modi government's tenure.
In the BJP, Tiwari had in 2017 opened a front against the then chief minister Vasundhara Raje and was served a notice for indiscipline.
He resigned from the party in June 2018.
He had openly accused Raje of corruption and made several complaints against her to the party high command.
However, he claimed that the party did not hear his grievances.
Tiwari floated Bharat Vahini Parthi ahead of the December 2018 assembly elections and contested from the Sanganer seat, where he lost and even forfeited his security deposit.
In 2020, he joined the BJP again after talks with the central leadership.
BJP state president Satish Poonia congratulated him for his candidature.
"Congratulation to honorable Shri Ghanshyam Tiwari ji for being made candidate for Rajya Sabha from BJP Rajasthan," Poonia tweeted.
Tiwari was born on December 19, 1947 in Sikar district and has been a legislator from there two times.
He held the portfolios of education, food and civil supplies, and parliamentary affairs in different BJP governments in the state.
He has a law background and is known for his oratory skills.
Elections to four seats of Rajya Sabha will be held on June 10 as BJP's Omprakash Mathur, K J Alphons, Ramkumar Verma and Harshardhan Singh Dungarpur are going to complete their term on July 4.