Newly appointed Rajasthan BJP president CP Joshi on Monday exhorted party workers to refrain from ‘hero worship’ and focus on disseminating the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government’s welfare policies among people to uproot the Congress government from the state.
Joshi, who formally took charge as the state president at the BJP headquarters in Jaipur on Monday, sought the support of senior leaders and party workers to bring the BJP back to power in this year’s assembly elections.
“Today you have showered your loved and welcomed me…but after today, there will be no more welcomes and no more hoardings…for the next six months… We have to slog,” he said addressing a large gathering of enthusiastic supporters.
Joshi accused the incumbent Congress government under chief minister Ashok Gehlot of being anti-farmer and anti-youth, and asked the BJP workers help dethrone the “useless” Congress dispensation.
“The BJP government has hiked the rail budget, given medical colleges, revoked article 370 in Kashmir, is building the Ram temple in Ayodhya has given Jan Dhan accounts to lakhs,” he told party workers.
The BJP, faced with rifts and rival camps, has tried to give a message of unity with Joshi’s appointment. There are a host of leaders in the race for the CM’s post, including former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and former BJP president Satish Poonia.
The main challenge for Joshi will be to unite the party as they head to the state elections end of this year. What sets him apart is that he does not belong to any camp and maintains good equations with all leaders.
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On Monday, almost all party MPs and MLAs gathered when Joshi assumed charge. Some who were unable to make it sent their wishes through state in-charge Arun Singh.
Interestingly, the new posters put up at the state BJP office to welcome Joshi had photos of PM Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda, Raje and Joshi, but not of Poonia.
However, he praised Poonia for strengthening the organisation and carrying out the successful Jan Akrosh rally across the state.
“I am satisfied with my job. I thank the party for giving me, a simple party worker from a farmer family, the chance to lead the party. I thank you all for your support,” Poonia said in his address.
At 47, Joshi is the youngest party president in Rajasthan. Interestingly, he entered politics with the National Students’ Union of India, the student wing of the Congress. He later switched to the BJP and became the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president before becoming an MP.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson RC Choudhary said as an MP, Joshi had not raised any issues of Rajasthan in the Parliament.
