Parnami quits, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat new Raj BJP chief

Rajasthan BJP president Ashok Parnami has tendered his resignation and has been made member of the party’s national executive committee. Assembly elections in Rajasthan are slated for the end of the year.

The BJP was yet to make an official announcement on Parnami’s resignation at the time of filing this report. News agency IANS said quoting sources that minister of state for agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat would be new state party chief.

A press release issued by the party on Wednesday stated that BJP president Amit Shah has appointed Parnami as the member of the party’s national executive.

Sources said that the national leadership of the party was in favour of replacing Parnami after the BJP faced a rout in the bypolls to two Lok Sabha seat and one Assembly seat in January this year.

Parnami, who had sent his resignation to BJP chief Amit Shah on April 16, denied that he quit because of defeat in bypolls saying that party’s victory and defeat cannot be attributed to any one individual but the responsibility was collective.

“I have quit due to personal resonns and will continue to work as a party worker,” he told journalists.

According to sources in BJP, union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Rajasthan social justice minister Arun Chaturvedi were said to be frontrunners for the post, with Shekhawat, Satish Puniya and member of Parliament Om Birla also said to be in the running.

Sources said that chief minister Vasundhara Raje was throwing her weight behind Chaturvedi although the central leadership was in favour of Meghwal. Both the leaders are considered close to RSS.

“An official confirmation is likely tomorrow once the chief minister returns from her Chittorgarh trip today evening,” a BJP leader said requesting anonymity.

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