Trouble in store for Raje

Trouble is in the air for Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, after the way the entire Gurjar crisis was handled by her government.

Rajasthan BJP chief Mahesh Sharma has been summoned to Delhi where senior party leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani spoke to him at length about the way the crisis was handled. He will be meeting BJP chief Rajnath Singh tomorrow when he returns from Kanpur.

According to top BJP sources, there is widespread unhappiness in the party over the way the situation was allowed to fester and grow without any firm administrative steps.

Sources even hint that an eventual replacement of Vasundhara Raje as the chief minister is being contemplated. "Polls are 15 months away. If a change has to take place it should take place now," said a source in the party.

The first to raise the issue of replacing Vasundhara Raje was senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, but the lack of a clear alternative has made the party pause a bit. "Among those who can replace Raje is Narpat Singh Rajvi, son-in-law of Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is a known Raje baiter." said a source.

The sources also said that the projection of Raje's daughter-in-law Niharika Singh's role as an ice-breaker with the Gurjar leaders had also not been taken well by the BJP leadership.