By appointing Om Mathur as the party chief in Rajasthan yesterday, BJP president Rajnath Singh overruled the objections of both L K Advani and Chief Minister Vasundhare Raje. An upset Raje, who is already in New Delhi, is expected to meet Advani tomorrow.

Raje has sought freedom to run the affairs of the organisation and the government, as the party readies for Assembly elections this year.

The Rajasthan BJP issue had come up at a strategy session of the party last Sunday, when Advani expressed his reservations about replacing Mahesh Sharma as president. A section of the state party unit has been demanding the ouster of Sharma, known to be a close confidante of Raje.

While Advani supported Raje’s contention that a change of leadership should be avoided, Singh, with the explicit support of the RSS, overruled the objections.

Mathur, an RSS insider, has been BJP general secretary in-charge of Gujarat. He is not liked by Raje. Apparently, Singh did not appreciate a recent reshuffle in the Rajasthan ministry in which Raje sought to clip the wings of those critical of her. He thought the “imbalances had to be corrected”, said sources.