To contain 'discontent', Vasundhara Raje begins political appointments

JAIPUR: With murmurs of some disgruntled BJP leaders in the state planning to cross over to the opposition Congress growing louder, the chief minister Vasundhara Raje has set in motion the political appointments.
Raje, who was down due to health issues, has finally set in motion the appointments to many defunct boards. It may be noted that Raje has been refusing to fill up these posts despite the directions from the Rajasthan high court in the past.Raje, thus, gives out some hope to the leaders.
Raje is also dangling the carrot of a ministerial reshuffle to the 'hopeful MLAs'.
Despite the party's central leadership giving a go ahead for the ministerial reshuffle and reorganisation of party posts, the delay in carrying out the task has exasperated the party leaders and MLAs.
The desertion of two BJP leaders belonging to a prominent caste who recently joined the Congress party has been seen as a sign of the growing frustration within the saffron party.
The two Jat leaders, who switched their loyalties to the Congress, are former Union minister Subhash Maharia and former MP Hari Singh.
Both hail from Rajasthan's Shekhawati region. Though the two leaders are not very popular faces, their switching over to the rival camp sent out a wrong signal, said a BJP leader.
Subash Maharia, a three-time MP and a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, is a prominent Jat leader and was once the national vice president of the party's Kisan Morcha.
A four-time MLA, senior Jat leader Hari Singh had been a minister in the Congress government earlier and had been an MP once. He had quit the Congress in 2011.
Hari Singh was the first to switch sides to the BJP before the assembly elections in 2013, which was followed by a number of other leaders giving a boost to the BJP .
However, he was angry with the treatment meted out to him after the party secured the highest majority in the state.
Independent MLA Nand Kishore Maharia, the brother of Subash Maharia, had also joined the Congress.
In a state where caste equations play a major role, the two Jat leaders joining the Congress is seen as the success of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Sachin Pilot who has been able to attract other caste groups towards the Congress.
"Unlike some other leaders, Pilot is not carrying any old baggage and this keeps him in good stead," said a Congress leader.
Raje has also antagonized the Rajputs, another important caste which has stood with the BJP, with her tussle with the erstwhile Jaipur royal family in the Rajmahal Palace land row.
With the Vasundhara Raje government completing three years in office in December, the desertion of leaders from BJP is seen as a sign of distress brewing among the party leaders.