Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has found a place in the list of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) star campaigners for the upcoming by-elections for three Assembly seats amid speculations over a rift in the party’s State unit. Ms. Raje’s supporters have been demanding that she be projected as the Chief Ministerial face in the 2023 Assembly polls.
Ms. Raje was conspicuous by her absence in rallies and public meetings organised to mark the filing of nominations by the BJP candidates in Sujangarh, Sahara and Rajsamand on Tuesday. She was also missing from all the party’s posters in the three constituencies where the polling will be held on April 17.
While the BJP has maintained that the former CM’s name has been added on fifth position in the list as a due respect for her seniority, party insiders said here on Thursday that it was still uncertain if she would join the poll campaign. Ms. Raje’s absence in Rajsamand was especially surprising as the party has fielded Deepti Maheshwari, daughter of the late Kiran Maheshwari, who was close to her and was a minister in her Cabinet.
‘Temple yatra’
Ms. Raje’s two-day “temple yatra” undertaken in the Bharatpur last month had depicted her strength within the BJP, with two dozen MPs and MLAs rallying behind her.
