No general secretary in Rajasthan for over 6 months, BJP’s state unit hamstrung

Jaipur: Disputes among senior leaders and lack of coordination in the organisation are said to be the reasons why the post of BJP general secretary (organisation) in Rajasthan is vacant for the past six months.
Chandrashekar, an RSS leader who served as the party’s general secretary (GS) here since 2018, was reassigned to Telangana in Jan this year, leaving the position unoccupied.This post is pivotal for maintaining equilibrium between the party and the RSS and plays an influential role in the govt. It also coordinates between the party’s central and state leaders.
The general secretary was instrumental in implementing the party’s campaigns in all districts ahead of the Assembly elections last year, such as the “Nahi Sahega Rajasthan-Sankalp Yatra”.
The post also enjoys influence over all 9 apex morchas and mandals of the party organisation.
“The absence of the key post impacted the party’s results in 11 Lok Sabha seats, as internal disputes and low enthusiasm among party workers led to defeats. It was stated in the party’s review meetings post Lok Sabha polls that poor booth level management cost lakhs of votes to the party. Unlike in assembly elections, the booth management was missing in Lok Sabha polls,” said a senior BJP leader.
The gen secy rarely makes public appearances but enjoys control over district presidents and morcha presidents and has a say in both core committee meetings and divisional level meetings.
“At present, the voice of RSS is missing in the govt. In a recent meeting in Jaipur, RSS functionaries identified a 10-point programme for the govt,” said an RSS leader.
The recent issue with cabinet minister Kirori Lal Meena may not have escalated if the general secretary had been in place.
“Meena went ahead with his five letters to the PM and CM and then resigned because no one in the state unit tried to resolve his issues. The absence of a leader who could bridge the gap between him and party leaders allowed the matter to escalate,” said a senior party leader.
The general secretary could also have rescued the Bhajan Lal govt from the public criticism it faced for water and power crises in May and June.
“At a time when the party’s state unit was busy in campaigning for Lok Sabha polls, the state unit struggled to launch any counterattack against the opposition. He (Chandrashekar) had done that in the past by mobilising crowds for campaigns like paper leaks and high crime rate during the presidentship of Satish Poonia (2020-2023),” noted an observer.