Jaipur:
It's now exactly a month since BJP President Rajnath Singh asked Vasundhara Raje to step down as Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan.
Interestingly, it is not her defiance or politics but astrological stars that are now being seen to be the cause of the delay.
Vasundhara Raje's devotion to the almighty was much publicised during her chief ministerial tenure. Her loyalists claim she never takes a single step without consulting astrologers.
So, the defiance of her MLAs, then a Session of the Rajasthan Assembly, followed by her sudden illness, it's now the stars of the inauspicious Shraadh fortnight that are saving Raje from resigning.
"If Vasundhara resigns during these days, it could be harmful for the entire party. It is a traditional belief that no major decision should be taken during the Shraadh period," said Vinod Shastri, a leading astrologer from Jaipur.
Sources in the BJP say even Rajnath Singh, earlier pressing Raje to resign quickly, is reluctant to take action during the Shradh fortnight. In the past crucial decisions in the same period had harmed the BJP after Kalyan Singh took oath as UP Chief Minister nd never returned to power.
Also, VK Malhotra was announced as the CM choice during Shraadh and the BJP was routed in the last Delhi elections.
"Whether it's because of Shraadh, or the stars or any other reason, I have no idea. When and how Vasundhara Raje's resignation will happen is an issue between her and the party high command. I can't say anything," said Arun Chaturvedi, president of the Rajasthan unit of BJP.
So now there's an astrological angle for Vasundhara Raje to hang on to her post. But as the BJP-RSS top brass dither over Raje's future; the contrast with the swift expulsion of Jaswant Singh is only getting sharper and more embarrassing for the saffron parivar.