Dholpur: As the plot gets murkier in Rajasthan, Congress and BJP have been locked in bitter disputes after Ashok Gehlot accused the saffron party of toppling its government. But former chief minister Vasundhara Raje seems to be in a wait and watch mode amid the on-going political tussle between Gehlot and former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot.
Even though senior BJP leaders like Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Om Mathur and Gulab Chand Kataria have commented on the factional feud between the Congress govt in the state, former CM has been noticeably silent on the matter. Raje, who is at her Dholpur residence, has not yet commented on the matter.
Despite an open rebellion by Pilot and his 18 loyalists, the conspicuous silence of Raje over the entire political slugfest has intensified the speculation.
However, Hanuman Beniwal, Lok Sabha MP and an ally of BJP has claimed that Vasundhara Raje was trying to help Chief Minister Gehlot, adding that he had proof of collusion between the two leaders.
Taking it to Twitter, Beniwal wrote, "Former CM Vasundhara Raje is making all efforts to save the minority government of Ashok Gehlot." According to Beniwal, the BJP leader has already called many Congress MLAs in this regard.
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पूर्व सीएम वसुंधरा राजे ने @INCRajasthan में उनके करीबी विधायको से दूरभाष पर बात करके उन्हें @ashokgehlot51 का साथ देने की बात कही,सीकर व नागौर जिले के एक एक जाट विधायको को राजे ने खुद इस मामले में बात करके @SachinPilot से दूरी बनाने को कहा जिसके पुख्ता प्रमाण हमारे पास है !
— HANUMAN BENIWAL (@hanumanbeniwal) July 16, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">पूर्व सीएम वसुंधरा राजे ने @INCRajasthan में उनके करीबी विधायको से दूरभाष पर बात करके उन्हें @ashokgehlot51 का साथ देने की बात कही,सीकर व नागौर जिले के एक एक जाट विधायको को राजे ने खुद इस मामले में बात करके @SachinPilot से दूरी बनाने को कहा जिसके पुख्ता प्रमाण हमारे पास है !
— HANUMAN BENIWAL (@hanumanbeniwal) July 16, 2020पूर्व सीएम वसुंधरा राजे ने @INCRajasthan में उनके करीबी विधायको से दूरभाष पर बात करके उन्हें @ashokgehlot51 का साथ देने की बात कही,सीकर व नागौर जिले के एक एक जाट विधायको को राजे ने खुद इस मामले में बात करके @SachinPilot से दूरी बनाने को कहा जिसके पुख्ता प्रमाण हमारे पास है !
— HANUMAN BENIWAL (@hanumanbeniwal) July 16, 2020
READ: Attempts made to lure me, but I refused offer: Congress MLA
Beniwal alleged that Raje had called up Congress MLAs and asked them to maintain distance from Pilot. According to the NDA ally, Gehlot and Raje are conniving each other to cover the corruption.
Pilot had earlier claimed that he won't be joining BJP. Though Pilot has the support of 18 MLAs, it is difficult to bring down the Gehlot government with such numbers. Vasundhara Raje was eyeing for a third term as CM and sees Pilot as a tough competitor. The party had already cornered her after the 2018 assembly polls but if BJP comes to power again, she doesn't have enough numbers to be in majority.
In a show of strength, Gehlot had earlier claimed the support of 109 Congress MLAs but inside sources revealed that the party does not want to lose Pilot after Jyotiraj Scindia joined BJP. Several senior party leaders including former Union minister Jitin Prasad, Priya Dutt, Shashi Tharoor have pushed that talks should be initiated with Sachin Pilot.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also softened his stand and is understood to have instructed the party leaders to give Pilot a second chance
Is BJP waiting for tables to turn? Sources said that Pilot may get the support of MLAs in Gehlot's camp who are silent and could become turncoats. (With agency inputs)
