No Differences, Party With Vasundhara Raje, Says Rajasthan BJP In-Charge

The entire BJP is with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in preparing for the assembly election and reports of differences among party leaders in the state were due to a "communication gap", BJP's Rajasthan in-charge Prakash Javadekar has said. He said the matter has been resolved.

The union minister said the combined force of Prime Minster Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah is the party's biggest strength.

People in Rajasthan's 200 constituencies will vote on December 7; the result will be out on December 11.

On the Congress's criticism that there are differences within the BJP's state unit, Mr Javadekar said, "There were no differences as such. There was only a communication gap and now everything has been sorted out. The entire state unit is working overtime to ensure BJP's victory and is unitedly behind Vasundhara ji, who is the most popular leader in the state."

His comments came after Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said there were "differences" between Vasundhara Raje and Amit Shah and the two rarely shared a stage. "Whenever Amit Shah comes, Vasundhara Raje goes somewhere else. They are not ready to be present in the same district," Mr Pilot said recently.

Mr Javadekar claimed the BJP has an edge over the Congress as the ruling party is clear about its leader, who is acceptable to all sections of the society, whereas Congress is a divided house.

"We are clear about our leadership and the entire party is united behind her. But the Congress is in a dilemma and there is huge infighting in the opposition party between the Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps," Mr Javadekar said.

He pointed to welfare schemes started by the state government, including the Bhamashah Yojana, a health insurance scheme. The desert state has always seen water shortage, but the BJP government ensured water reaches every village and every farm, Mr Javadekar said.