Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, but through dialogue: Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah said that Ram Mandir should come up in Ayodhya, but clarified it should be within the ambit of legal framework and through a dialogue. Shah is in Jaipur on a three-day visit, interacting with the local party office bearers and elected representatives as a part of a grooming exercise for the 2019 elections. At a media briefing, when asked the BJP's stand on Ram Mandir, Shah said the stand is pretty clear from the party's election agenda and from its stand on the issue over the last four general elections. "The Ram Mandir should come up in Ayodhya," he said, adding, "It should come up through dialogue and within legal framework."

Shah was optimistic about BJP's prospects in the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, and said the party is in a position to win 150 seats.

BJP sources say that Shah engineered Leader of the Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Shankarsinh Vaghela's, retirement decision and remote-controlled the move that gives tactical advantage to the party over Congress.

Contrary to reports of a possible change in guard in Rajasthan, in wake of an imminent cabinet reshuffle at the Centre, Shah lavished fulsome praise on Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over the last two days of his stay in Jaipur.

"Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and Narendra Modi at the Centre are fueling the growth engine of the nation," he said, adding that creating issues is the handiwork of people. "There is no question of change in leadership in Rajasthan," he said. He gave a new mission to party workers, Ajay Rajasthan, which he is confident of pulling off next year when the Assembly elections are due.