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As Rajasthan prepares for parliamentary elections this year, the BJP finds itself in the middle of a power play. For one, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is celebrating her birthday in style with a huge party at the Salasar Temple in Churu district on Saturday. On the other hand, the youth wing of the BJP, Yuva Morcha, launched a simultaneous program to picket the residence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over the issue of leaked exams. All MPs were asked to make the event a success. For many BJP leaders it is now a choice between the devil and the big blue: should they stick with the party platform or follow Ms Raje who always draws crowds? This clash of events deepens the fault lines within the BJP. Vasundhara Raje's birthday party is seen as a show of force ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan. Ms Raje, a two-time head of government and still one of the party's biggest voters, is a popular figure within the BJP. Although the party has decided not to project a chief ministerial face in this election, Ms Raje's supporters see her as a potential candidate for the post.
Vasundhara Raje's camp, however, denied that the birthday party was a show of force. They claim that Ms. Raje has been celebrating her birthday with party workers for two years. BJP Churu MP Rahul Kaswan said that Ms. Raje is the National Vice President of the party and the young voter is attracted to her, so they want to celebrate her birthday.
"Two years ago she celebrated her birthday at Goverdhanji in Bharatpur. Last year it was Keshoraipatan and this year Salasar is where the party workers want to meet her," Kaswan said.
However, in a potential clash with the event, the youth wing of the BJP called a protest at the prime minister's residence over the issue of exam leaks. The event will be addressed by BJP Head of State Satish Poonia, long seen as a challenge to Ms Raje's dominance, and Rajendra Singh Rathore, deputy leader of the opposition party's assembly. Rathore denied that the simultaneous events hinted at a power struggle within the party.
"If a leader celebrates her birthday, there is nothing wrong with it. She has been head of government twice. There is no pulse. The Vidhan Sabha was on these days and MPs should be here," she said. .
