Lalit gets even with Raje for ignoring him

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi are definitely not friends anymore. The developments of past few days, scrutinised carefully, indicate towards Lalit Modi settling scores with Raje, who till date were believed to be close family friends. Having claimed that Raje accompanied his wife Minal to Portugal and also having revealed, through his PR managers, that she recommended his case for refuge in England, Modi has put the Rajasthan leader in a political quagmire from which she would find difficult to extricate herself.

Why would Lalit Modi want of have a revenge on Raje? Sources in BJP indicate towards the changed political equations in the state, with Raje having drifted towards the faction close to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It’s well-known that Jaitley is an anathema to Lalit Modi. Modi had accused Jaitley’s acolyte Bhupendra Yadav, a member of Rajya Sabha and party’s general secretary, for putting BJP tickets in assembly polls on sale. Through these accusations, Modi indicated that his cronies were not accommodated.

The accusations boomeranged on Modi as BJP in Dec 2013 polls scored handsomely winning 163 out of 200 seats. “Still smarting under political defeat, Lalit Modi did not expect Raje to give him a further short shrift and dethrone him as President of <g data-gr-id="25">Rajathan</g> Cricket Association. He contested the matter in court and managed a stay. The last straw came when Raje government cancelled the cricket stadium project, the land for which was allotted during the Congress regime,” said a party insider.

With the dice fully loaded against him, Lalit Modi, who enjoyed unrestrained powers during Raje’s earlier regime between 2003 and 2008, waited for his chance to get back at his one-time mentor. He has done it effectively in the past few days by making it difficult for Raje to continue in office.