New Delhi: Gearing up for assembly elections in Rajasthan slated for later this year, BJP brought back former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to head the party in the state.
Announcing Raje's appointment in the presence of senior party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, BJP President Rajnath Singh said party leader Gulab Chand Kataria will be the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly. He will take over from Raje who quit the post.
Singh earlier held a meeting with party leaders from the state in a bid to put up a united face of the faction-ridden party in Rajasthan ahead of the elections.
Besides the two Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament, others present at the meeting with Rajnath included Raje, Kataria and outgoing party state president Arun Chaturvedi.
"The party will work unitedly under the leadership of Vasundhara Raje," Singh told reporters.
Raje is also expected to be BJP's chief ministerial face, though a final decision in this regard will be taken after the polls.
Soon after assuming her new responsibility, Raje said "BJP is a family. In this, not just us but workers are also there. This is a big family and, as Gulab Chand Kataria said, we will take it forward with everybody. I want assure everybody that in this big family everybody has a place and for this we all, Gulabji will make the Rajasthan BJP strong and take it ahead. There are no two views on that."
The announcement comes as part of the party's efforts to end dissidence in its state unit. The tenure of the 200-member current assembly in Rajasthan ends on December 31, 2013.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, February 02, 2013, 17:45