Jaipur: Two of the BJP's tallest leaders from Rajasthan, Jaswant Singh and Vasundhara Raje, are at the root of the current crisis in the party. They have been bitter rivals for years.
While Jaswant has now been expelled, the row over Raje's removal continues to haunt the party. Although party president Rajnath Singh openly asked her to quit on Sunday, Raje is yet to resign as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Jaswant Singh had played a crucial role in Vasundhara Raje becoming Rajasthan Chief Minister, but soon after the NDA lost power in Delhi and Raje started ignoring its Finance Minister as her camp felt that Jaswant may now eye Raje's chair.
The floods in Barmer also washed away the remaining bonds between the two. Jaswant loyalists claimed the Raje government was deliberately slack in helping flood victims to politically harm Jaswant's son Manvendra, who was then the MP from Barmer.
The bitterness between the two sharpened when Raje loyalists issued poster depicting Raje as a goddess and claiming that it was an insult to religious sentiments. Jaswant's wife dragged the matter to court.
Vasundhara critics have now started rallying around Jaswant. But when he invited the anti-Raje camp to his village and allegedly served them opium, Raje hit back and registered a police case to thoroughly embarrass Jaswant.
Given the clash between the two, Raje did not campaign for Jaswant's son in the recent Lok Sabha elections. And after the BJP's rout in Rajasthan, the Jaswant camp began lobbying hard for Raje's removal as the Leader of Opposition in the state.
Defeat for one's political opponent is always satisfying. But Jaswant Singh's expulsion, ironically, signals warning bells for his arch rival Vasundhara Raje. For, if a stalwart like Jaswant can be punished how can the BJP high command now ignore indiscipline from any other leader?