Gehlot’s googly creates turmoil in poll-bound Rajasthan

By further widening the rift in the BJP, Ashok Gehlot not only weakens the saffron party, but also trains guns on Sachin Pilot and his supporters

What is common between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot? Undoubtedly, the two are among a handful of the shrewdest leaders in the Opposition space, about whom the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seldom talks loosely, lest they retaliate in unusual ways.

On May 7, 72-year-old Gehlot delivered a googly meant to drive a further wedge in the already divided BJP in his poll-bound state, and made his detractors in the Congress (including young and ambitious Sachin Pilot) uneasy, to say the least. According to Gehlot, in 2020 when Pilot (then Deputy Chief Minister) and 18 MLAs tried to bring down his government, it was former Chief Minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje and two other BJP leaders who helped him overcome the crisis.

Gehlot also alleged that Union ministers Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat operated behind the scenes in the 2020 crisis, by giving the dissidents crores of rupees — money which they failed to return after the rebellion turned out to be a damp squib.

Gehlot and Shekhawat have been at daggers drawn in the local politics of their hometown Jodhpur, where the Chief Minister has been able to corner the Union minister amid cases of alleged corruption against him. Shekhawat was once seen as the probable chief ministerial face of the BJP.

The Raje factor

As expected, Gehlot’s statement drew sharp reactions from Raje and the BJP. It is believed that Gehlot and Raje have a good political understanding and do not act against the other while in power; Pilot’s accusation that Gehlot is not acting against Raje on corruption must be seen from this perspective.

Raje, a leader in her own right, is Rajasthan’s only female Chief Minister and has held the post twice. Rajasthan goes to the polls towards the end of this year, and she would be expecting the BJP leadership to announce her as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. Grapevine is that Raje is not on the best of terms with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. That said, during her recently-held birthday celebrations, which was a trail of strength, the BJP state leadership was in attendance.

Raje became Chief Minister for the first time in 2003, while Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani were at the helm of the BJP. This was also the time when Bhairon Singh Shekhawat moved to Delhi as Vice President. Since then, Raje is synonymous with the BJP in the desert state. That said, it is understood that the Modi-Shah duo are looking to promote Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to lead the party in the state.

Pilot cornered

On April 11, Pilot held a day-long fast calling for action by the Gehlot government against alleged corruption during the Raje government’s time. After Gehlot’s May 7 statement, Pilot claimed that Gehlot’s real leader is Raje, and not Sonia Gandhi. Now, Pilot is embarking on a padayatra from Ajmer to Jaipur to focus attention on the corruption issue. These acts of defiance, and that too against the Congress government, has not gone down well with the national leadership.

The master tactician Chief Minister is now virtually threatening Pilot that his future in Congress could be in jeopardy if he reveals the plot of the 2020 rebellion. Recently, there were reports that Pilot had approached the Aam Aadmi Party, which the party has denied. It had, however, insisted that it needs ‘good people’.

Tactics

Gehlot’s game is clear. By further widening the rift in the BJP, he not only weakens the saffron party, but also trains guns on Pilot and his supporters. If he succeeds, and the Congress does well in the polls, Gehlot could remain Chief Minister.

What makes these political developments noteworthy is that it further heightens the political uncertainty in the state because both the Congress and the BJP are internally unstable, and for the past few decades anti-incumbency has played a role in alternating governments in the state.

Earlier this month, 82-year-old Pawar by announcing his resignation as party chief, and later withdrawing it, rallied the party around him amid threats that the BJP was attempting a split it by enticing Ajit Pawar.

Time will tell whether Gehlot’s googly has had the desired effect.

(Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are senior journalists)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the authors' own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.