Vasundhara Raje Asking Cong MLAs to Support CM Gehlot: BJP Ally

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Hanuman Beniwal said that Raje asked Congress MLAs to stay away from Pilot.

File photo of Vasundhara Raje.

(Photo: Reuters)

Adding a twist to the ongoing power tussle in Rajasthan, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally in the state has claimed that former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje is helping CM Ashok Gehlot stay in power.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Hanuman Beniwal on Thursday, 16 July, tweeted that Raje has been calling Congress MLAs and asking them to keep their distance from Sachin Pilot.

"Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has called up Congress MLAs close to her and asked them to support Ashok Gehlot. She has called each and every Jat MLA in Sikar and Nagaur and asked them to keep their distance from Sachin Pilot, I have proof of this," tweeted Beniwal.

He is an elected MP who represents Nagaur in the parliament. A known Raje critic, Beniwal quit the BJP to join RLP ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections.

Rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday moved the Rajasthan High Court along with other 18 MLAs of his camp against the disqualification notices issued to them by the Assembly Speaker.

However, with Pilot camp seeking time to amend their petition, the hearing was deferred by the court. The MLAs will file a fresh petition on Friday to "incorporate challenge against some provisions of Representation of Peoples Act", Live Law reported.