Congress to tread carefully in Rajasthan leadership issue

Despite losing, Congress has not only retained its vote share in the desert state, but has increased it by 0.2 per cent, showing that its vote bank has remained stable.

Jaipur: With the selection of new leaders in the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Congress units, there is speculation over the leadership issue in Rajasthan Congress as well.

Although Congress could not manage a win in the desert state, it did put up a good show as compared to the other two states. Congress won 69 seats as compared to 115 of the BJP in a House of 200. BJP’s vote share has increased by 2.3 per cent as compared to 2018. Congress has not only retained its vote share but has increased it by 0.2 per cent, showing that its vote bank has remained stable. Plus the anti-incumbency factor has also to be taken into account when considering the leadership question.

Thus the Congress High Command has to tread carefully in case of Rajasthan as compared to other states. While some of the welfare schemes like the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme have been path-breaking, perhaps they failed to resonate amongst the masses despite the publicity blitzkrieg adopted by former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

In the review meeting, although Rahul Gandhi agreed that the welfare schemes were unique, he argued that Congress has failed to communicate them properly as compared to Karnataka. He was also miffed as many of the senior ministers and MLAs who were facing anti-incumbency were again given tickets, especially on Gehlot’s insistence that they helped him during Pilot’s rebellion in 2020.

Although there is no need to oust Gehlot like Kamal Nath as he does not hold any party position, a consensus needs to be reached on who would be helming the party presidentship and the CLP in the House.

There are at least five contenders for these posts, including former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. Other contenders including party president Govind Singh Dotasra, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Rajendra Pareek and Harish Choudhary may be in the running. Pilot and Malviya are both Congress Working Committee members as well, the meeting of which is slated for Dec 21.

Malviya, 60,a three-term MLA from Bagidora, is an influential tribal leader in the tribal belt of Banswara region and was also a minister in the Congress government. He retained his seat even in 2013 when there was a strong Narendra Modi wave and Congress was reduced to just 21 seats against BJP’s 163.

Pareek, a Brahmin, 75, from Sikar district is a six-term MLA and was also a Cabinet minister earlier.

Dotasra, a Jat, is a four-term MLA from Laxmangarh in Sikar and is the present party president. He was a chief whip and deputy chief whip in the House when Congress was in Opposition. He was a minister in the Congress government.

Harish Choudhary, 54, is a dominant Jat leader from the Barmer region. In charge of party affairs in Punjab, he was also a Lok Sabha MP from Barmer-Jaisalmer. He contested the Assembly election from Baytoo and got 76,821 votes.

While Gehlot or Pilot can be given the post of Opposition leader, there is more confusion over who would helm the party presidentship, looking at the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

Like BJP, who has a Brahmin Chief Minister and two deputy Chief ministers from Rajput and SC castes, the Congress too has to figure out its caste configuration while deciding on these important posts.

Between 2003 and 2008, Congress has made changes in these positions a number of times. If a Brahmin was made the Opposition leader, a Jat was made the party president. In 2013, after Pilot, a Gujjar, assumed the party presidency, the formula changed.

Both these posts are equally important if Congress has to make a comeback in the desert state, vis-a-vis the Lok Sabha Elections, where 25 seats are at stake.