JAIPUR: The supporters of Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, a loyalist of former CM Vasundhara Raje, protested at the BJP office against dropping his name from the Jhotwara assembly seat on Tuesday.
Shekhawat, a former MLA from Jhotwara, was replaced by Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in the first list announced on Monday. Over 200 protesters raised slogans of ‘Rajpal Shekhawat Zindabad’ outside the office, taking the party leaders by surprise. The protesters, including women, recited ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and demanded a meeting with party president CP Joshi. When there was no response, they burned tyres outside the main gate, leading to chaos.
“Shekhawat is like our son and brother. He has been serving the constituency for the past 10 years without a break. On the other hand, Rathore is a new face and an outsider. He is known for his arrogance,” said Bhupesh Singh, a protester, who threatened not to leave until the party gave the ticket to Shekhawat.
When the last reports came in, the protests were going on outside the party office. TOI called Arun Chaturvedi, who is handling the demands of protesters, but got no response.
Earlier in the day, over 100 workers from Deoli-Uniara staged a protest against the ticket given to Vijay Bainsla, son of community leader Kirori Singh Bainsla. They came in support of local BJP leader Rajendra Gurjar, whom they claimed to be a sure winning candidate, against Baisla, an outsider with zero reach in the constituency.
“A delegation of 15 members were called inside the party office and were assured that their grievances would be addressed by senior party leaders,” said a BJP source. Some protesters remained at the BJP office while the majority left following assurance from party leaders.
A two-term MLA, Anita Gurjar, took the protest a step further by announcing that she would contest the polls as an independent candidate from the Nagar seat in Bharatpur. She alleged that she was not chosen as the party believed that she was close to Raje.
“People are calling me and urging me to contest the polls. They feel that the party has done great injustice by giving tickets to a weak candidate who lost the last assembly poll by 40,000 votes against Congress candidate Zahida Khan from Kaman in 2018,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
Vikas Choudhary, who was defeated by Independent Suresh Tak in the 2018 election with a narrow margin, posted on X. “I worked with honesty,” wrote Choudhary.
Responding to a question about whether he was declined a ticket due to his loyalty to Raje, he told TOI, “Madam Raje gave me a ticket in 2018. How can I forget that? Even if I was seen as close to her, I never crossed the party line. The party has given tickets to a 70-year-old man (Bhagirath Chaudhary), who is an Ajmer MP, over a youth who has connected lakhs of other youths with the BJP. Is this how you bring the youth into politics?” asked Chaudhary, who is a former student union president of MDS University, Ajmer.
In an emotional speech, Choudhary addressed his supporters in Kishangarh and said, “Some party leaders have hatched a conspiracy against me to ruin my career in politics. I am not weak, but for the first time, I am feeling helpless.”
Former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s son-in-law and MLA, Narpat Singh Rajvi, met close aides at his residence after being dropped from the first list and was replaced by MP Diya Kumari from Jaipur’s Vidhyadhar Nagar seat.
Rajvi did not issue any official statements. “Rajvi’s silence indicates that the party has assured him of something of which he is convinced. He is likely to be fielded from the Chittorgarh seat,” said a source. Similarly, former BJP chief whip in the state assembly during Raje’s previous tenure, Kalu Lal Gurjar, has been replaced by Udailal Bhadana. Gurjar has reportedly headed to Jaipur to meet Raje.
Shekhawat, a former MLA from Jhotwara, was replaced by Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in the first list announced on Monday. Over 200 protesters raised slogans of ‘Rajpal Shekhawat Zindabad’ outside the office, taking the party leaders by surprise. The protesters, including women, recited ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and demanded a meeting with party president CP Joshi. When there was no response, they burned tyres outside the main gate, leading to chaos.
“Shekhawat is like our son and brother. He has been serving the constituency for the past 10 years without a break. On the other hand, Rathore is a new face and an outsider. He is known for his arrogance,” said Bhupesh Singh, a protester, who threatened not to leave until the party gave the ticket to Shekhawat.
When the last reports came in, the protests were going on outside the party office. TOI called Arun Chaturvedi, who is handling the demands of protesters, but got no response.
Earlier in the day, over 100 workers from Deoli-Uniara staged a protest against the ticket given to Vijay Bainsla, son of community leader Kirori Singh Bainsla. They came in support of local BJP leader Rajendra Gurjar, whom they claimed to be a sure winning candidate, against Baisla, an outsider with zero reach in the constituency.
“A delegation of 15 members were called inside the party office and were assured that their grievances would be addressed by senior party leaders,” said a BJP source. Some protesters remained at the BJP office while the majority left following assurance from party leaders.
A two-term MLA, Anita Gurjar, took the protest a step further by announcing that she would contest the polls as an independent candidate from the Nagar seat in Bharatpur. She alleged that she was not chosen as the party believed that she was close to Raje.
“People are calling me and urging me to contest the polls. They feel that the party has done great injustice by giving tickets to a weak candidate who lost the last assembly poll by 40,000 votes against Congress candidate Zahida Khan from Kaman in 2018,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
Vikas Choudhary, who was defeated by Independent Suresh Tak in the 2018 election with a narrow margin, posted on X. “I worked with honesty,” wrote Choudhary.
Responding to a question about whether he was declined a ticket due to his loyalty to Raje, he told TOI, “Madam Raje gave me a ticket in 2018. How can I forget that? Even if I was seen as close to her, I never crossed the party line. The party has given tickets to a 70-year-old man (Bhagirath Chaudhary), who is an Ajmer MP, over a youth who has connected lakhs of other youths with the BJP. Is this how you bring the youth into politics?” asked Chaudhary, who is a former student union president of MDS University, Ajmer.
In an emotional speech, Choudhary addressed his supporters in Kishangarh and said, “Some party leaders have hatched a conspiracy against me to ruin my career in politics. I am not weak, but for the first time, I am feeling helpless.”
Former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s son-in-law and MLA, Narpat Singh Rajvi, met close aides at his residence after being dropped from the first list and was replaced by MP Diya Kumari from Jaipur’s Vidhyadhar Nagar seat.
Rajvi did not issue any official statements. “Rajvi’s silence indicates that the party has assured him of something of which he is convinced. He is likely to be fielded from the Chittorgarh seat,” said a source. Similarly, former BJP chief whip in the state assembly during Raje’s previous tenure, Kalu Lal Gurjar, has been replaced by Udailal Bhadana. Gurjar has reportedly headed to Jaipur to meet Raje.
