BJP president Amit Shah and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasudhara Raje on Wednesday discussed the pending issue of the appointing a new State president as the party faces a tough electoral challenge from the Congress by the year-end when Assembly polls are due.
The working president Ashok Parnami along with other BJP leaders from Rajasthan was present during the meeting.
BJP’s poll campaign in Rajasthan seems to be hamstrung as it doesn't have a new state president in the absence of a consensus between Raje and Shah . She is understood to have opposed the nomination of Union Minister of State for Agriculture and lok Sabha member from Jodhpur, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, as replacement for Parnami, who was asked to step down following the party's defeat in the Ajmer and Alwar lok Sabha byelections and Mandalgarh assembly bypoll.
BJP faces anti-incumbency in the state which is traditionally known for not repeating a government twice. The internal rift in the state unit is another cause for concern for the BJP’s central leadership.
Shah also met Andhra Pradesh party leaders, including State chief Kanna lakshminarayana. It was decided that three Union Ministers, including Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and Prakash Javadekar, will visit the three main regions of the state to publicise the works done by the central Government for it.