<p> <br />Over 60 MLAs loyal to Raje announced here that she would not quit as leader of the Opposition as demanded by party President Rajnath Singh.<br /><br />The faction supporting Raje met the party supremo with the latter insisting that the former chief minister resign from her post.<br /><br />Raje’s camp followers later went to the residence of senior leader L K Advani, but they were not granted audience. <br /><br />They staged a “dharna” before Advani’s 30, Prithviraj residence, even as the senior leader held talks with the party president. “We, 62 MLAs from Rajasthan, have come to tell the central leadership that our leader is and will continue to be Vasundhara Raje. We want to warn them that without her the people of Rajasthan and the party unit will be nothing. We do not want a change in leadership,” BJP chief whip in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Singh Rathore, said.<br /><br />Raje has been asked to step down following the party’s debacle in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.<br /><br />The banner of revolt by the Rajasthan MLAs has come at a time when the “chintan baithak” of the top party leadership is scheduled to be held at Shimla next week. The meeting will examine the reasons for the party’s debacle in the general elections.<br /></p>
<p> <br />Over 60 MLAs loyal to Raje announced here that she would not quit as leader of the Opposition as demanded by party President Rajnath Singh.<br /><br />The faction supporting Raje met the party supremo with the latter insisting that the former chief minister resign from her post.<br /><br />Raje’s camp followers later went to the residence of senior leader L K Advani, but they were not granted audience. <br /><br />They staged a “dharna” before Advani’s 30, Prithviraj residence, even as the senior leader held talks with the party president. “We, 62 MLAs from Rajasthan, have come to tell the central leadership that our leader is and will continue to be Vasundhara Raje. We want to warn them that without her the people of Rajasthan and the party unit will be nothing. We do not want a change in leadership,” BJP chief whip in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Singh Rathore, said.<br /><br />Raje has been asked to step down following the party’s debacle in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.<br /><br />The banner of revolt by the Rajasthan MLAs has come at a time when the “chintan baithak” of the top party leadership is scheduled to be held at Shimla next week. The meeting will examine the reasons for the party’s debacle in the general elections.<br /></p>
