Work unitedly, speak in one voice against Cong govt: BJP central leadership to Rajasthan unit

Getting the BJP's Rajasthan unit ready for the assembly polls next year, party president J P Nadda on Tuesday held a meeting with leaders from the state, while the BJP leadership asked them to get their house in order and work unitedly to strengthen the organisation, sources said.

Nadda's closed door meeting with leaders from the state was attended by former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kailash Choudhary and Arjun Ram Meghwal and state party unit chief Satish Poonia, among others, and it lasted for more than four hours.

BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh and the state unit's organisational secretary, Chandra Shekhar, were also present at the meeting held at Nadda's residence.

Sources in the BJP's state unit said the party's top brass has set the ball rolling for the assembly polls and the message in today's meeting was clear that without getting into any groups, the party should work collectively to ensure victory in the elections.

The party's central leadership also suggested to leaders to expose the Congress government in the state on issues of corruption, farm loan waiver, unemployment and lawlessness, they said.

The BJP's top brass also conveyed that the party's stand on all issues should be same and uniform. Activities should be well coordinated with all leaders and at the same time they should not speak in different tunes on different issues, the sources said.

Reportedly, the BJP's Rajasthan unit is marred with factionalism, with groups of several leaders, including those of Raje and Poonia.

Raje, who is a two-time chief minister of the state, is perceived to be the BJP's tallest leader in Rajasthan but had a few run–ins with the high command in Delhi over the appointment of the state unit chief after the top leadership proposed Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Shekhawat's name.

But its seems things have turned better as she recently got an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was present at the oath taking ceremonies of chief minister in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Despite facing defeat in the 2018 Rajasthan assembly polls, the BJP did exceedingly well in the 2019 general elections, by winning all 25 seats from the state with comfortable margins. But the party lost bypolls in the state last year.