 "Rajasthan elections: BJP announces 2 key committees, Vasundhara Raje absent")
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced two key election committees for Rajasthan, however, Vasundhara Raje was not a part of any of these committees. The announcement was made by BJP state president C P Joshi and in-charge for Rajasthan, Arun Singh.
These committees include the election management committee and the election manifesto committee. These have been formed by the party's national president J P Nadda.
The 21-member election management committee is headed by former MP Narayan Panchariya, while Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will be leading the Pradesh Sankalp Patra (manifesto) committee.
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Vasundhara Raje has held the position of Chief Minister for Rajasthan twice, from 2003 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2018. Raje is also the most popular figure associated with the BJP party in Rajasthan. However, as the party has not yet announced its candidate for the upcoming assembly elections, there is a lot of speculation on whether Raje will return to lead BJP's election campaign in Rajasthan.
In July, reports from the Hindu and Swarajyamag wrote about the paradox Raje created for the BJP. On the one hand, she is the face of the party in Rajasthan and has won the election twice for the party, but on the other hand, BJP also witnessed one of its worst tally in Rajasthan in the last state elections.
Current Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also criticised the party for using PM Narendra Modi's image for election campaigns instead of any local party leaders. Gehlot slammed the opposing party for not having any leaders in Rajasthan that could secure the party's win in the upcoming elections.
This latest move has once again raised speculation about who will be the BJP candidate for Rajasthan Assembly elections.
The state assembly elections for Rajasthan are slated for later this year.
(With agency inputs)