BJP plans yatras against Cong in Raj next month

While the dates for the rallies are yet to be decided, they will culminate in a ‘Chalo Jaipur’ march, the functionary said on condition of anonymity.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a campaign against the Congress government in Rajasthan by organising Jan Aakrosh Yatras (rallies to express anger) across all assembly constituencies starting November, party functionaries aware of the matter said.

Differences in the Congress camp have come as a shot in the arm for the BJP which has been trying to corner the Gehlot government. (AP)

Besides stepping up pressure on the Congress, which is witnessing a power struggle between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and a faction of leaders led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, over various issues, the rally aims to galvanise the state unit of the BJP amid reports of an internal feud ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, the functionaries added.

According to a senior party functionary, the yatras will flag governance deficiencies, cases of crime against women, caste-based violence and appeasement politics of the state government among other issues.

While the dates for the rallies are yet to be decided, they will culminate in a ‘Chalo Jaipur’ march, the functionary said on condition of anonymity.

“The yatras that will be led by state-based leaders will travel and spend 10 days each in 200 assembly constituencies. There will be convoys which will include a traditional Rath (chariot) that will travel to all villages and highlight the deficiencies of the Congress government,” the functionary said.

Public meetings will be held in all districts on December 17, which will coincide with the Gehlot government’s four-years in office, the functionary added.

Differences in the Congress camp have come as a shot in the arm for the BJP which has been trying to corner the Gehlot government.

Taking note of the difference in its state unit, the BJP leadership, in the past, has instructed its leaders to put aside their differences and build a cohesive front against the Congress.

“It is because differences between former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and the state president Satish Poonia are out in the open that the central leadership took a call to not project a chief minister’s face for the 2023 election. The party cadre has been explicitly told that the chief minister will be decided after the election results are announced,” a second functionary said.

Raje and Poonia, reports suggest, are trying their best to prove their might over one another in an attempt to be projected as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate.

The central leadership’s instructions, notwithstanding supporters of Raje and Poonia, miss no chance to exhibit a show of strength, whether it is through poster wars or sloganeering during party functions.

On speculation that Raje could be asked to not contest the election, the second functionary said: “She is a tall leader with a massive support base in the state. All decisions will have to be carefully weighed in…”

The BJP has also set up a screening committee, headed by Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and MLA Vasudev Devnani, to oversee the membership drive, particularly of those joining from other political parties.

“There are many leaders who are in touch with the BJP and want to join the party ahead of the elections. The screening committee will be given the mandate to oversee this,” the first functionary said.

The party wants to make sure that those who join the BJP fold do not end up embarrassing it if for whatever reason they choose to leave in haste, the functionary added.

The BJP had lost the assembly elections in 2018 after winning just 73 out of 200 seats. The Congress won 100 seats.