Jaipur, Aug 11 The story of Chittorgarh queen Karnawati and Mughal emperor Humayun appears to be on revival in Rajasthan, where former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is being compared to Karnawati while her successor Ashok Gehlot is the Mughal emperor, who despite being in opposite camps supported each other both covert and overtly to allow the other to emerge victorious in vicious circumstances.
Political pundits in the state say that the month-long political crisis witnessed a 'happy ending' due to the role played by Vasundhara Raje who made "all efforts" to keep the Gehlot government safe and ensured rebel Sachin Pilot's return to the Congress party.
Karnawati, the Mewar queen, during the 15th century, sent a rakhi to Humayun, seeking help from his side, when enemies attacked her kingdom. The Mughal emperor gave his utmost respect to the queen's rakhi and came rushing to help his so-called sister when she was in need.
Political sources say that Vasundhara Raje and Gehlot, despite being in opposite camps representing BJP and the Congress, were also extending significant help to each other.
In fact, Sachin Pilot had a few days back claimed that Gehlot was busy ensuring that Vasundhara Raje did not have to vacate her government bungalow.
Hanuman Beniwal, Nagaur MP and convenor of BJP ally RLP, has also said that Vasundhara Raje was trying her best to 'save' the Gehlot government. He also claimed that there was an "internal understanding" between her and the Chief Minister.
Vasundhara Raje, apparently, called many BJP MLAs and reportedly sought their support for Gehlot during the trust motion, he said.
Meanwhile, Vasundhara Raje's stoic silence amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan surprised everyone as she did not show any kind of support in any tweet or attack made by the state BJP unit on the opposition camp and maintained a safe distance from all controversy.
The Dholpur royal preferred to stay in her palace for over a month and made no attempt to attend party meetings in Jaipur.
In fact, she went to Delhi and expressed her annoyance against the state unit's activities during her meeting with BJP national president J.P. Nadda as well as Union minister Rajnath Singh. Her supporters wrote a letter to Nadda alleging that the state party leadership was ignoring her, saying she was a mass leader in the state.
Surprisingly, during the crisis, many state Congress Ministers, including Shanti Dhariwal and Pratap Khachriyawas from among CM Gehlot's camp continued praising Vasundhara Raje while the BJP leadership maintained silence on her.
Congress minister Harish Chaudhary commented that the BJP was planning to take its MLAs to a Gujarat hotel fearing Vasundhara Raje.
Around 35 out of 72 BJP MLAs are believed to be Vasundhara Raje loyalists and showed solidarity with their leader and maintained silence during the recent political crisis in the state.
( With inputs from IANS )