Rajasthan Congress Crisis: With Gehlot Out of Race, Can Party Have Any Chance?

Ironically, Gehlot, known as a loyalist, was handpicked by the Gandhis to contest for the Congress President post.

Gehlot preferred state over national politics as he may not have wanted to be a puppet President or become the sailor of a sinking ship. However, his future in Congress looks bleak now as he may have crossed several lines with the High Command. 

(Image: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

The political turmoil in the Rajasthan Congress took a major turn as Ashok Gehlot camp's plans of thwarting attempts made by the Gandhi family to anoint Sachin Pilot as his successor backfired, kicking him out of the party's presidential race for once and all.

In a late night drama that unfolded in Jaipur, Gehlot loyalist MLAs, totalling around 90, put in mass resignation just before the scheduled Congress Legislature Party(CLP) meeting was held to pass a resolution to empower the high command to name the next Chief Minister(CM) of Rajasthan. They contended that any such meeting was premeditated and should've been called only after the elections are held. Amidst deadlock, the observers had returned to Delhi. 

Ironically,Gehlot, known to be a loyalist, was handpicked by the Gandhis themselves to contest for the Congress President post after being touted a favourite who could win the elections hands down.

In the current context, this is being hailed as a 'master stroke' by the Gandhi family supporters as the strategy killed two birds with one stone. 

A Calculated Move or Election-Fixing?

The party would have a new President soon, thus, negating criticism that Congress is slowly becoming like a regional party with family control, and it would also help them solve the leadership issue in Rajasthan which is going to polls next year. The initial plan was to have Gehlot posted in the centre so that Gandhis could fulfil their promise made to Pilot. 

Gehlot, on the other hand, seemingly wanted to keep both the two posts--that of the Party President and the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. However, after facing rebuke from Rahul Gandhi who reminded him of 'one-man one-post' policy, he toned down. The Gandhis were advised to hold a CLP meeting and name Sachin as successor to Gehlot, thus, giving him one full year before the state elections. However, this hurried action was unwarranted. 

In an effort to portray that the party President elections are free and fair, the Congress seemed to have jeopardized their own stance by demanding resignation from Gehlot or pre-elect his replacement even before the former had filed his nomination papers. Doesn’t it show that the elections are fixed or will it be easier now to pass the blame?

Longstanding Trust Issues in the Congress Camp

What explains this bizarre circus in Rajasthan? It all boils down to trust. The recent episodes of altercation show that the Gandhis and Gehlot didn't quite fully trust each other. Gehlot didn't want to hand over power to Sachin before his election as Congress President and Gandhis became increasingly wary of this wily politician, speculating what if Gehlot dug in his heels and created an impediment for Sachin Pilot to become CM, once entrusted with the top post.

And to top it all, the entire media branded him as a loyalist. How ironical! And that too, while Rahul is leading a Bharat Jodo Yatra, raising issues of inflation, unemployment, and, agri-distress engulfing the economy. 

What Turned the Gehlot Boat in the Presidential Race?

High command advisors may argue that the CLP meeting was called to avoid any conflict of interest situation emerging after Gehlot becomes Party President. The turn of events show otherwise and that the, consensus should have been built beforehand calling such a meeting. 

Simply, Sonia Gandhi should have asked Gehlot to hand her his resignation letter, promising that it would be used only after he became President. CLP meeting should have been called after the elections. 

The Gehlot camp is harping on the fact that Sachin allegedly hobnobbed with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to bring down the Congress government in 2020. Then why should he be made the CM? Gehlot should have continued as CM, and if not, then any of the party loyalists out of the 102 MLAs who saved the government during that time should've been named his successor. 

Sachin is young and Gehlot seems to have succeeded in warning MLAs that if Pilot becomes CM, then he would have a long run and the careers of most of these MLAs would be finished.

Congress’s Weak Links Deepened the Crisis

The series of events go onto demonstrate the weakened hold of the Gandhi family over the party. Successive losses have diminished the moral authority which they once commanded. A regional satrap challenging the high command shows them in poor light. So what happens now?

With Gehlot potentially out of the race for the party's presidential polls, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and senior party leaders, Digvijay Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge are now ccontesting for the top post.

Rather than going with the conventional options of having a Gandhi scion i.e. Rahul Gandhi or a Shashi Tharoor lead-in, the Congress went with the party's senior leadership to chair the presidential post.

Gehlot preferred state over national politics as he may not have wanted to be a puppet President or become the sailor of a sinking ship. However, his future in Congress looks bleak now as he may have crossed several lines with the High Command. 

Having said that, Sachin may miss the bus again. To be fair, he doesn’t have the numbers and that is crucial in electoral democracy. However, he is young and patience would reward him. He could now be the face if Gehlot moves out of Congress and decides to form a regional party. 

Can the Jadugar come out of this misfired trick? We'd have to wait and see.