JAIPUR: With polls in Rajasthan slated for December this year, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday said that her recently concluded birthday celebrations was not a show of strength and that it was about her devotion.
This comes after Raje's birthday bash on March 4 saw over fifty thousand people including several MLAs and MPs gather at the Slasar Dham in Churu, forcing the BJP high command to think about her popularity.
Speaking to the media Raje said, "It is not a show of strength, but devotion. It is not right to publicize it in the media as a show of strength." Raje's powerplay comes at a time when the internal dispute is rife within the BJP with several party members jockeying to become the party's chief ministerial face. Among those is state BJP president Satish Poonia, whose tussle with Raje has been well documented.
In a bid to counter Raje's birthday bash, Poonia organised a protest on the same day against the Gehlot administration over the issue of paper leak, with instructions issued to all party lawmakers to participate in the protest.
However, the Raje camp has claimed that as many as 12 MPs, 52 MLAs and 118 former MLAs of the party had taken part in the BJP leader's birthday celebrations. This also included BJP's State in-charge Arun Singh who visited Salasar to congratulate Raje and project a show of solidarity.
Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP's state in-charge Arun Singh have said that the assembly elections to be held this year will be fought under the collective leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Raje's supporters have been persistently demanding the party to make her the chief ministerial face and argue that no leader within the Rajasthan BJP camp is of her stature.
Experts believe that by holding a grand rally in Salasar, Raje has given a befitting reply to her opponents in the party and also sent a message of her popularity to the central leadership. This comes as the role of Leader of the Opposition continues to be vacant after senior BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria became the Governor of Assam. It is to be seen whether the BJP leadership will hand a bigger role to Raje ahead of the assembly elections.