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Set house in order before polls: BJP chief Nadda tells Rajasthan unit
The central leadership also informed the state leaders that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be face of the elections in the state, said the functionary, requesting anonymity.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda on Tuesday asked leaders of the party’s Rajasthan unit to refrain from making controversial statements and iron out intra-party differences ahead of the 2023 assembly elections in the state, said a party functionary.
The central leadership also informed the state leaders that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be face of the elections in the state, said the functionary, requesting anonymity.
“Nadda said the priority is to contest the elections as a cohesive unit and the decision on selecting the chief minister will be taken once the party wins the polls,” the functionary added.
The BJP had lost power to the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections, winning 73 seats in the 200-member assembly while the Congress won 100 seats.
The message to set the house in order was relayed at a three-hour long meeting at Nadda’s residence on Tuesday morning. The meeting was attended by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and state unit president Satish Poonia, besides national general secretary Arun Singh, Union ministers Gajendra Shekhawat and Arjunram Meghwal and national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh.
The functionary said the high command is not happy with the “bickering” between the state leaders and they have been asked to set aside differences and focus on the elections. There have been reports of friction between Raje’s supporters and a section of cadre that backs Poonia.
Raje was in the national Capital twice this month to meet the central leaders and she was also present on the stage for the swearing-in ceremony of Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on March 23 which was read as an indication of her being back in prominence in the state.
“There have been instances of poster-wars and statements that go against the party’s discipline. Some leaders were seen to be creating their own groups of loyalists and the high command on multiple occasions conveyed their disapproval as well,” the functionary said.
There has also been a demand from a section of party workers to replace Poonia, who they blamed for not being able to strengthen the party after the 2018 poll loss. “His leadership was questioned after the BJP won just one seat (out of seven seats that went to bypoll in 2021) and came third and fourth in Vallabhnagar and Dhariawad assembly segments,” a second functionary said, adding, “Since then, there has been a demand for a new state unit president.”
