New Rajasthan BJP in-charge to mend fences with RSS

The new state in-charge of BJP, Avinash Rai Khanna and in-charge for party affairs V Satish will start their new innings in Rajasthan from Tuesday.

Both the leaders have come at a time when Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is in thick of the controversy over the issue of former IPL chief Lalit Modi and there is a stand-off between the state government and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Khanna’s appointment is seen as an attempt by the top leadership to break the deadlock between government and RSS. But the two newcomers will have to tread a tough path to achieve their objectives.

After reaching Jaipur, Khanna will hold a series of meetings with the local leadership. Meetings with the state and district office-bearers, BJP legislators, ministers and chief minister have been already been fixed for Tuesday.

Local leaders are confident that Khanna will give new directions on behalf of the top leadership. However, before leaving for Jaipur, Khanna made clear that his first task in Rajasthan will be to break the deadlock between the RSS and BJP government.

According to the party leaders, V Satish will act as a bridge between organisation and RSS while Khanna will be the key person between government and organisation.

The party sources said that several leaders from Rajasthan BJP have already taken the issue of temple demolition to the national chief Amit Shah. 

“RSS is adamant that it will not let state government to demolish any temple in Rajasthan. It’s simply impossible due to ongoing Metro project in the city. The immediate challenge is to appease the RSS and find a solution to the problem,” said a senior BJP leader.

Strong bonding
In order to deal with the outside challenges, the party needs to have a strong bonding with the RSS and right-wing organisations, he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has been maintaining silence over the recent controversies over Lalit Modi and ownership of Dholpur Palace.

But her frequent visits to various temples and performing unusual rituals clearly indicate the immense pressure she is going through.

After conducting rituals at her residence a few week ago, Raje has now visited Pitambhara temple in Datiyan town of Madhya Pradesh where she stayed inside the temple for almost two days and offered rituals continuously for 27 hours.

Her temple visit is seen an attempt to take blessing from almighty so that she come out of all controversy safely.

Raje reached Jaipur on Monday and straightaway went to state secretariat to finalise the agenda of the cabinet meeting scheduled on Tuesday.