Jaipur, September 04: Vasundhara Raje’s dilly- dallying over resigning as the Rajasthan legislature party leader has got nothing to do with politics.
If her detractors in the BJP are to be believed, she is trying to delay her departure on the advice of her astrologer. Party sources said that was the real reason for her skipping the meeting with party president Rajnath Singh and senior leader Venkaiah Naidu on August 31. The party and Raje, though, officially cited her illness as the reason.
According to a senior BJP leader, Raje’s astrologer had suggested to her that going by her planetary positions, she should try to delay her resignation till September- end or at least September 9.
The BJP leader said that was the reason she had claimed to be unwell and sent her son Dushyant Singh to meet Naidu and convey her inability to go for the scheduled meeting.
The leader said Raje summoned her physician Sudhir Bhandari from Jaipur and got him to say he had advised her week- long rest for fever and swelling in the liver.
On the other hand, sources said, the party astrologers had advised central leaders to take Raje’s resignation before the shraddh paksh or pitri paksh ( the fortnight- long period for performing rituals for ancestors, which is considered inauspicious in the Hindu calendar) that begins on Friday.
Two major decisions taken by the party during shraddh period in the past had proved disastrous.
Former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh took oath during the period and never returned to power. The second decision was to announce V. K. Malhotra as the chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi assembly polls last year.
—Agencies