Rajasthan BJP caught in turbulence
The Hindu
As factionalism brews, show-cause notice served on ex-Minister for speaking out against State leadership
The Rajasthan BJP is facing its own set of turmoil, with former Minister Rohitash Sharma speaking out against the State leadership, accusing it of “running the party from within office rooms” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The party served a show-cause notice on him for indiscipline but the incident has drawn attention to the fact that the cleavage in the party between the factions that owe loyalty and those who oppose former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje continues to exist and flare up. Ms. Raje, a leader who headed two governments, continues to remain strong within the party with much support while the national leadership has remained wary of her power. Attempts to place Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as the State president came a cropper a couple of years ago when she stood her ground.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












