BJP setting up 'war room' for Amit Shah in Jaipur
What's the story
After losing Karnataka, BJP is already gearing up for the upcoming Rajasthan elections. The saffron party is now in the process of setting up a 'war room' of sorts in Jaipur from where the party president Amit Shah and his top henchmen will be calling the shots. Meanwhile, the question of who the Rajasthan BJP chief will be still hangs in the air.
War room
Shah's aides searching for apartment to set up war room
A team from the Delhi BJP is reportedly in Jaipur looking for the ideal apartment from where Shah can operate. Shah's aides are looking for an apartment in Jaipur's C scheme, or in JLN Marg. Incidentally, two flats in the C scheme have already been rented by the BJP, and the party's national IT team is expected to move in shortly.
Shah's role
Shah set to micro-manage Rajasthan election strategy
Amit Shah is slated to visit Rajasthan every month for at least three to four days in the run-up to the state assembly elections, which are due in November or December. Instead of depending on the state BJP unit, Shah's team will take direct feedback from all the district units across the state and plan out BJP's election strategy in Rajasthan.
Quote
BJP's central unit will be calling the shots
"Amit Shah will monitor and micro-manage all political developments in the run-up to the elections. Rajasthan will be divided into zones and his trusted leaders in the central party organization will be given charge of each zone," said a BJP leader, on condition of anonymity.
State party chief
Shah to address state party chief issue soon, say sources
Meanwhile, party sources said that Shah has prepared a report on the BJP's Rajasthan unit, and would soon address the vexing question of who the next state party chief will be. BJP's Rajasthan unit has been without a chief for over a month now, after Ashok Parnami resigned on March 16, after being held accountable for the BJP's loss in the bypoll.
State-centre friction
BJP's state, central unit are in disagreement over chief selection
However, there's been friction between the BJP's central and Rajasthan unit over the selection of the new state chief. While the BJP's central leadership is keen on appointing Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has opposed the move. It's reportedly believed that the appointment of Shekhawat, a Rajput, would please the Rajput community who haven't been happy, following the Padmavat controversy.