Clouds have cleared now: BJP on Rajasthan row

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday claimed that the crisis in its Rajasthan unit had blown over and indicated that the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Vasundhara Raje is the undisputed head of the party there.

Top leaders of BJP, including Arun Jaitley, placated Raje on Monday morning over the phone and asked her to pipe down. She had gone public with her anger over her party colleague Gulabchand Kataria's decision to kick off a yatra in the state.

"The clouds have cleared now and rains are expected.  There was one misunderstanding and it has been resolved. Raje is the undisputed leader. She is the Leader of the Opposition," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

With a majority of BJP Members of Legislative Assembly and two party Members of Parliament submitting their resignation to Raje to express their solidarity with her, Kataria was forced to give up his plan.

"The clouds have cleared now and rains are expected. There was one misunderstanding and it has been resolved. Raje is the undisputed leader. She is the Leader of the Opposition," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

Party sources said the crisis began when BJP MP Kiran Maheshwari and Kataria, both of whom hail from Udaipur, had a conflict. Kataria had made some remarks against Maheshwari, which she countered in the local media. When Kataria declared his intention to take out a yatra, it was opposed by Maheshwari, who is close to Raje, and others in the party.

The Rajasthan BJP core committee then decided that Kataria should not take out a yatra and Raje went public with her threat to quit the party if he does not give up the idea, triggering the crisis.

Central BJP leaders conveyed to Raje that "she is the party" in Rajasthan and should give up her stance.

The BJP MLAs and MPs are likely to take back their resignation. Sources said some changes in the party organisation in Rajasthan may take place in the near future.