An internal power struggle is on the horizon in Rajasthan. It is playing out in both the premier national parties —the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) —and finds reflection in the lists of candidates fielded for the November 25 assembly elections.
Both parties will loathe to admit yet the unvarnished fact is that the BJP and the INC are in the midst of effecting a generational change in the state organisation. The objective is to build, operate and transfer leadership in a seamless fashion without accentuating the fault lines within.
To be fair, leadership of either party remained on course to promote and gradually loosen the grip of entrenched state leadership that was and prefers to be at the helm of affairs.
Either way, an interesting political battle is out there on display with central leadership of the BJP and the Congress attempting to assert finality of its word in the organisational scheme of things.
Yet, the challenge for either party is to ensure that in the process the leadership does not upset the applecart, so to state. Taking recourse to conventional logic and trend of the electorate in the desert state to oust the incumbent government, the BJP will not want to blow away this opportunity for more reasons than one.
Rajasthan remains one of the principal states for the BJP to retain its stronghold in the Hindi-speaking belt of India. If the rotational factor of state politics remains relevant, the BJP should romp home winners when the results are announced on December 3. The party will be back in the saddle to govern the border state, which among other factors elects 25 Members of Parliament.
Yet, by opting to make one of its most prominent leaders and forceful claimant for Chief Minister, Vasundhra Raje and her loyalist wait for the second list announcement on October 21, the BJP central leadership’s message was loud and clear. Raje and her band of followers will have to submit to the party’s overall strategy and cannot harbour preconceived plans.
In a balancing act, while declaring the second list on Saturday besides renominating Raje from her Jhalrapatan constituency, the party accommodated more than two scores of legislators from her camp. Significantly, it brought back Narpat Singh Rajvi, to contest from Chittorgarh, after deciding to field party MP Diya Kumari from his Vidyadhar Nagar seat, considered a safest seat. Kumari, who hails from erstwhile royalty, is being perceived by many as a possible CM candidate, when the occasion arises. Well, it is not as if this is a certainty considering that BJP decided to field other MPs, who on emerging victorious could be in the running.
On the other hand, just as Raje, her fellow traveller in Rajasthan Congress, Ashok Gehlot too is grappling with a succession bout on the electoral mat. As the incumbent Chief Minister Gehlot exhibited his dexterity to ward off a determined bid by younger Sachin Pilot to topple him.
Gehlot, known by his moniker ‘Jadugar” (Magician) in the state politics knows tricks in real life too and ability to survive political challenges provided a ballast to his career at different times.
Unlike the BJP where the state leadership is in the hands of erstwhile Royals and the influential Rajput community, the Congress Chief Minister hails from the Mali community, an OBC like Sachin Pilot who comes from the Gujjar community. The Congress plank of social equity and empowering members of the OBC has a strong anchor in the state since Gehlot became a Chief Minister in 1998. Recently, while backing caste census, he announced six per cent reservation for the most backward classes within the existing 64 per cent for OBCs.
On the surface, both Gehlot and Pilot are preferring to keep the powder dry for the leadership position. Public pronouncements by either leader, notwithstanding, should the Congress retain the right to govern the state for the second time in succession, Gehlot will not concede ground to Pilot. This is where the intensity of the battle will begin.
Ironically, while both Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje are in similar situations, the young Pilot attacked the Chief Minister for going soft on former Chief Minister Raje instead of acting against allegations of corruption during her tenure.
Pilot, whose work as State Congress Chief paved the path for the Congress to come back to power in 2018, remains sullen for being denied the Chief Ministership. He banks on support from the Gandhi siblings to accomplish the task this time around.
Political observers will watch whether internecine tussle for leadership would trigger a battle of attrition by the seasoned warriors tripping the Chief Ministerial aspirants from getting past the post.
—The author, KV Prasad, is a senior journalist and has earlier worked with The Hindu and The Tribune. Views expressed are personal.
Read his previous articles here (Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
First Published: Oct 22, 2023 1:11 PM IST
