Rajasthan leader Ghanshyam Tiwari, known as former chief minister Vasundhara Raje's biggest detractor, has returned to Bharatiya Janata Party after two years.
"It feels good to be back in BJP. I thank my party men for considering my candidature once again," Tiwari declared at an event to mark his return at an event in Jaipur in the presence of state party president Satish Poonia.
On June 22, 2018, Tiwari, who was a former minister in the BJP government, and his son Akhilesh floated a political outfit named “Bharat Vahini Party” to contest the assembly polls in Rajasthan later that year. He then joined hands with the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections in 2019. But at the event to mark his return, Tiwari claimed that "I am a strong believer of BJP and I support its ideology which is why I never took membership of the Congress party.”
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A five-time MLA and a veteran leader in Rajasthan politics, Tiwari is a known detractor of former CM Vasundhara Raje, and was at loggerheads with her on several occasions. In a letter to BJP chief Amit Shah, he had blamed Raje for his exit in 2018. "Vasundhara Raje operates in an autocratic manner. Raje has filled many positions with outsiders rather than with party leading to the dissatisfaction among BJP members. It's the high time and BJP should change its leadership in Rajasthan," he said in his letter.
At Saturday’s event, state party president Satish Poonia said Tiwari's return to the party fold was not an exception. “Before Tiwari, other disgruntled leaders such as Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh, etc too had re-joined after leaving the BJP," he noted.
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According to party sources, Tiwari's comeback followed a nod from the central leadership. "The anti-Vasundhara camp within the party has grown strong, which has made possible the return of Tiwari. It is a win-win situation for the saffron party as well as Tiwari. He is the tallest Brahmin leader BJP had. But after parting ways from BJP, his party couldn't do well. This re-entry will prove fruitful to BJP too as it ill help to garner votes from Brahmin community. It is also a loss for Congress who failed to utilise his charisma", senior political analyst Om Saini told Outlook.
The rift between Ghanshyam Tiwari and Raje surfaced a year before the 2018 Assembly elections, when he revolted against Raje by burning the copies of the Rajasthan Ministers Salaries (Amendment) Bill, 2017 passed by her government granting her and other ministers life-long possession of government bungalows. The Bill was later struck down by the Rajasthan court.
In another instance, Tiwari had revolted against Raje for trying to enforce a controversial gag law which would shield judges and government servants from being investigated. Replying to the Budget debate in the assembly, he termed the bill as “kala kanoon (black law).”
