Rajasthan BJP suspends 11 senior leaders for rebellion

Jaipur, Nov 23: In a bold political move ahead of assembly elections, the Rajasthan BJP has suspended 11 senior leaders, including four ministers in Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's cabinet, for refusing to withdraw their nominations in favour of alternative candidates picked by the party.

A press release issued by the party on Thursday stated that the 11 rebels have been dropped from the party's primary membership for six years.

They were identified as Surendra Goyal, Lakshminarayan Dave, Radheshyam Ganganagar, Hemsingh Bhadana, Rajkumar Rinava, Rameshwar Bhati, Kuldeep Dhankad, Deendayal Kumavat, Kishanram Nai, Dhansingh Rawat and Anita Katara.

Many rebels from the party filed their nominations for the December 7 polls, a number of MLAs resigned from the party after being dropped. The Vasundhara Raje-led BJP is seen to be facing a massive anti-incumbency sentiment in Rajasthan this time round, and dissent in the camp is unlikely to help its case.

Voting for all 200 seats in Rajasthan assembly is set to take place on December 7. The counting of the votes will be done on December 11.