Congress in Rajasthan: ‘Chalo Dilli’ Because All Is Not Well

Rajasthan Congress Is Already Running Out of Steam

(Photo: The Quint)

Chalo Delhi! This is the mantra that drives the Congress party in Rajasthan.

The way things have unfolded post the state elections victory, the Congress leadership seems to have spent more time in the national capital than in Jaipur.

From newly elected MLAs to ministers and the state bureaucrats, everyone seems to be singing the old Bollywood number jayein to jayein kahaan. All are wondering about where to go and whom to meet, thanks to the two power-centre formula.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot haven’t been able to put up a great camaraderie other than in photo-ops. The way things are shaping up they don’t paint a rosy picture even as the newly-formed government is still in its honeymoon period.

Here are a few takeaways when you look at the political drama unfolding:

‘DnD’: Congress’s Hallmark

Delhi and Delay have been the hallmark of this government so far.

Take a look, it took them three days to figure out the chief minister, twelve days to select the ministers, and another three days to allocate them the departments. All these decisions were taken some 272 kms away from Jaipur.

After a bitter infighting that came to light during the ticket distribution, something the Congress has been denying vociferously, this dash to Delhi Durbar has made it clear that all is not well within the party.

Despite delay they haven’t been able to chart out a plan that binds the grand old party’s state unit together.

Of the 23 MLAs selected for ministerial positions, 18 are first timers . This leaves the old guard miffed. Many senior leaders including former union minister Dr. CP Joshi, former speaker of the assembly Deependra Singh, Bhawarlal Sharma and Parasram Mordia are unhappy and have stayed away from the swearing in ceremony. How will they be pacified remains to be seen.

Role Play in Rajneeti

After an intense standoff between Ashok Gehlot, who has two chief ministerial tenures in his kitty already, and his young challenger Sachin Pilot, the newly invigorated Rahul Gandhi came up with ‘chief minister with a deputy’ formula. Gehlot got his third trm as the chief minister and the short-changed Sachin was pacified with a deputy CM tag and state president-ship of the Congress in Rajasthan.

This is where Rahul Gandhi missed the trick to establish himself as a decisive leader, though his decision was hailed by many. With Gehlot in tow as AICC general secretary, Gandhi was taking the right steps as he had a seasoned regional politician in his inner circle.

Gehlot’s political acumen brought favourable results in Gujarat and managed to salvage the situation in Karnataka. With a victory in three states he could have added more firepower to the Congress party’s arsenal.

Having Gehlot as his number two in the center would have added to the veteran’ s charisma as a senior statesman. At the same time, by making Pilot the chief minister Gandhi would have been able to send a message that hard work of young leaders is handsomely rewarded in the party and the new guard is here to take charge. This would have fired the aspirations of many other young leaders and worked to the party’s advantage in the 2019 polls.

Already Running Out of Steam

One of the major reasons behind the Congress victory in Rajasthan has been the roaring anger against former chief minister Vasundhra Raje. The Congress have barely managed to touch the magical number of 100 with the help of an ally.

They have barely managed to secure 1,46,862 votes or mere 0.5 percent more votes than the BJP. NOTA polled 4,64,838 votes and has outnumbered the victory margin. Given this scenario the party cannot stay complacent. With delayed decision making, internal resentment, direct fight with Modi, the Congress doesn’t appear formidable against spirited BJP cadre and their well-oiled election fighting machinery.

How quickly will they be able to regroup remains to be seen, but in this picture everyone wins individually other than the grand old party.

(The writer is founder of @journalism_talk. He tweets @avinashkalla. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)