JAIPUR: Senior BJP leader and party in charge of Chhattisgarh, Om Prakash Mathur has asserted that the BJP will fight the assembly elections in Rajasthan on the lotus symbol. This implies that the party will not declare any Chief Ministerial candidate for the elections scheduled later this year. In addition, he has said that instead of all sitting MLAs getting tickets, 30 per cent of new faces will be fielded by the party.
Mathur made the remarks during a meeting with party workers in Barmer on Friday. This is being seen as a setback for the camp of former CM Vasundhara Raje whose supporters are demanding that the elections should be fought with her face in the forefront.
A major show of strength is being planned by Raje loyalists on her birthday early next month in the temple town of Salasar on March 4. Since Vasundhara’s birthday on March 8 coincides with the festival of Holi, her supporters are holding the celebrations a few days earlier. Major preparations are being made by senior leaders in the Raje camp to make the occasion a grand success.
Though the Raje faction wants her to be projected as the CM face in Rajasthan, the party's high command does not seem to agree. There are several other leaders in the race, which include Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, BJP state president Satish Poonia and Union Minister Gajendra Singh among others. The party’s top brass has often said that they will fight the election under a collective leadership and highlight PM Narendra Modi’s name.