In his greetings to Congress candidates named in the second list announced on October 22 for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot reaffirmed his emphasis on the schemes of bachat, raahat, badhat (savings, relief, growth), through which he expects to beat the desert State’s trend of incumbent governments being voted out of power during the last three decades.
This probably is the biggest challenge which the Congress faces despite highlighting its achievements in the flagship public welfare schemes. Mr. Gehlot said the party needed to “work tirelessly” and get people’s blessings to speed up the fourfold progress to 10 times. He also called upon the party workers to give a concrete shape to his vision for bringing Rajasthan to the front row of developed States.
The electoral fight in Rajasthan between two principal players — the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP — is influenced by a number of factors related to leaders, workers, policies, vision and targets of both the parties. The ongoing distribution of tickets has been plagued by dissidence and rebellion, while the parties such as the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have announced their plans to contest in large number of seats for the 200-member House.
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While the Congress has floated the slogan, Kaam Kiya Hai Dil Se, Congress Phir Se (We have worked with heart, let there be Congress again), the BJP has responded with Nahi Sahega Rajasthan (Rajasthan will not tolerate). In the murky political waters of the State, the campaigners have resorted to making allegations and promises, whipping up passions and pointing out shortcomings of the rival parties.
Slogans affirming unity in the rank and file of the BJP were raised when party candidate Vijay Bainsla started his campaign in Tonk district’s Deoli-Uniara constituency last week. While Mr. Bainsla, a prominent Gujjar leader, has been fielded at the seat in view of the community’s strength in the region, the BJP’s decision to appoint South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri election in-charge of Tonk district has met with skepticism.
Battle in Tonk
Mr. Bidhuri, who has received a show-cause notice from the party for making some abusive remarks in Parliament, has accused the Congress government of indulging in “appeasement politics” and supporting a particular community to obtain its votes. The Congress has fielded former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot again from Tonk and he is expected to counter this narrative in his campaign.
Rajsamand MP and scion of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family Diya Kumari, one of the seven BJP parliamentarians fielded in the Assembly election, initially faced opposition from the supporters of sitting Vidyadhar Nagar MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, who has since been shifted to Chittorgarh. Ms. Kumari’s growing stature has led to speculations that she may be considered as a replacement for former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is also from a royal background.
Ms. Raje seems to have been sidelined amid the BJP’s strategy to go to polls without projecting a chief ministerial face. BJP State president C.P. Joshi told journalists in Jaipur that this was a proof of “collective leadership” in the party, while the candidates were being selected after wide-ranging consultations which had increased people’s confidence and minimised the scope for rebellion.
Both the Congress and the BJP claim to have resolved the issue of factionalism, despite the supporters of rival leaders continuing to count how many of the loyalists of each of them have been given the tickets. In a significant remark, Mr. Pilot said he had welcomed with an open mind the proposal for giving tickets even to those who faced the charges of indiscipline in connection with the Congress Legislature Party meeting in September last year.
Modi’s charges
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has addressed several rallies in the State, has touched upon the issues ranging from paper leaks in the recruitment exams and the rising crime graph to appeasement as the Congress’s “first and last policy” and daylight murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal. While more of Mr. Modi’s rallies are expected in the run-up to the elections, Mr. Gehlot has countered his charges with the welfare claims.
The Congress candidates have started highlighting the public welfare schemes, for which the beneficiaries were registered in the inflation relief camps, during the preliminary round of their campaign after the release of two lists. These schemes include Chiranjeevi health insurance, employment guarantee in urban areas, LPG cylinders at ₹500, smartphones for women and social security allowance.
Congress MLA from Jaipur’s Adarsh Nagar Rafeeq Khan, who has been fielded from the same seat, said the anti-incumbency would not be a factor for the Gehlot government because of its work benefiting large sections of population. “Anti-incumbency works where a government does not perform. In Rajasthan, there is no resentment against the Congress regime and the Opposition is struggling to find the issues against it,” he said.
The key issues dominating the electoral scene in the State, expected to decide the voters’ preference, include farm loan waiver, Old Pension Scheme for government employees, Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), law and order, communal tensions and social security. Meghna Choudhary, a first-time voter in Jaipur’s Bani Park area, said the youths were looking forward to a political dispensation that creates opportunities for their all-round development.
Farmers’ issues will continue to dominate in the north Rajasthan districts, which have 50 Assembly constituencies with a significant presence of Jat, Muslim and Yadav communities. Though the voters generally cast ballot for a change in the region, the farmers’ belt had witnessed huge protests against the Centre’s farm Bills. According to the political observers, this may pose a challenge for the BJP despite the withdrawal of the Bills.
In southern Rajasthan, both the Congress and the BJP are set to face the challenge from the newly formed Bharatiya Adivasi Party, to which the two Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) MLAs, Rajkumar Roat and Ram Prasad Dindor, have also shifted. The new regional party is raising the issue of tribal communities being denied rights in the region and lack of development in the Tribal Sub-Plan area.
