Raje quits at last, delivers parting kick

After dodging BJP president Rajnath Singh’s fiat to her — to quit for poll reverses — for three month, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday resigned as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

After dodging BJP president Rajnath Singh’s fiat to her — to quit for poll reverses — for three month, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday resigned as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

HT Image

Singh had his way at last, invoking the name of the RSS and support of those BJP leaders who were upset with Raje’s style of functioning.

Raje’s departure came as senior BJP Leader L.K. Advani, who initially opposed her exit, was no longer willing to back Raje. Singh and other leaders like Sushma Swaraj have insisted on “enforcing discipline” for a poll defeat six months ago -- even while the BJP is reeling under fresh reverses in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

But showing her defiance till the end, Raje handed her resignation letter addressed to Singh to Advani.

Though she publicly maintained she was a “disciplined soldier”, Raje raised questions about the “undemocratic way the party is being run.”