Raje's Show of Strength

On March 8, thousands of people attended a celebration at a temple in Rajasthan’s Keshoraipatan, on the occasion of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s 69th birthday.

- Rohit Parihar

Ostensibly a personal affair, the huge gathering of fans and BJP workers was also a reminder, an assertion of the former CM’s continuing political relevance.

Though Raje is a national vice president of the BJP, the party high command has sent few tasks her way since she lost the Rajasthan assembly election in December 2018. Her relations with the party’s state unit are also frosty: state chief Satish Poonia and organisation secretary Chandrashekhar have largely been calling the shots, along with Rajendra Singh Rathore, deputy leader of the opposition and others from the anti-Raje camp. No one from Raje’s camp has a major post in the state unit.