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Rajasthan polls: Congress, BJP look to break the trend, set new precedent
The incumbent Congress aims to win the state and break the three-decade old trend of power being shared between Congress and BJP alternately
The Election Commission on Monday announced polling dates for five state assemblies including Rajasthan, with voting scheduled for the latter on November 23.
The incumbent Congress aims to win the state and break the three-decade old trend of power being shared between Congress and BJP alternately.
Riding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be hoping to defeat the chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in the state.
As many as 11 assembly elections have taken place in Rajasthan in the last five decades of which the incumbent government managed to win successive terms only twice in 1985 and 1993, both instances, it was Congress.
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Attempts to topple the government were made in July 2020 followed by mass resignation of Congress MLAs in September 2022 when the party aimed to replace Ashok Gehlot urging him to contest polls for national party president post.
BJP, on the other hand, has seen a lot of factionalism with the party having three state presidents in the last five years and the lack of consensus over the chief ministerial face.
Former chief minister CM Vasundhara Raje is pitted against senior leaders namely Union Jal Shakti minister Gajender Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the leadership, even as the party has announced that it will contest unitedly under the leadership of PM Modi.
The issue of the ‘red diary’ claims made by former minister in Gehlot government, Rajendra Gudha, is set to dominate the political discourse in the state.
Gudha was sacked from his position in July and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on September 10.
Before joining the Congress in 2019, he was with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Gudha claimed that the ‘red’ dairy contained the details of alleged irregular financial transactions of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
While the BJP continues to attack the state government on this issue equating it with corruption, PM Modi has raised the same in at least three election rallies in Rajasthan.
PM Modi has visited Rajasthan nine times in the last four months where he addressed rallies and cornered the government over poor law and order.
Congress has however, downplayed the entire ‘red diary’ episode.
Riding high on his government’s social security schemes like providing subsidised gas cylinders at ₹500, Chiranjeevi Health Insurance of ₹25 lakh, among others, Gehlot is confident of winning another term.
In 2018, the Congress had won 100 seats and the BJP got 73.
Gehlot formed the government with the support of BSP and independent MLAs.
In the past five years, the Congress has won five of the seven assembly bypolls, and one each was won by Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and BJP.
In 2013, when Gehlot was incumbent CM, the party won its lowest tally of 21 seats while the BJP got 163.
Both Congress and BJP will be wary of new parties in the political battlefield.
The entry of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rajasthan and emergence of Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan could pose a challenge to both Congress and BJP in the region.
Law and order situation, crime against women and Dalits, frequent paper leaks, power crisis, communal incidents, corruption, Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project, are some of the few issues that is set to dominate the election campaign.
Senior Congress leader and chairman of Social Welfare Board Archana Sharma said the government in Rajasthan has worked for the benefit of people.
“The schemes and policies, be it for gig workers, punishment for those involved in paper leak cases, Chirnajeevi health scheme, unemployment allowance, among others, have proven to be a milestone and no other government could think of what CM Ashok Gehlot has done.
“This election for us is about the performance and work done, whereas for BJP it has always been to divide and polarise,” she said.
BJP MLA Vasudev Devnani hit out saying the state government’s performance in the last five years has been nil.
“Their performance has been zero in the last five years. They failed to fulfil promises made and cheated youth and farmers. The atrocities against women in the state isn’t hidden”, he said.
Political experts however feel the upcoming state polls remain important for both the Congress and BJP going forward.
“Congress is trying to break the trend of three decades, the BJP is hoping to continue it. The big question is whether the trend will change or not? The Congress is counting on the work done, especially related to social sector, while the BJP continues to bank on PM Modi face,” political analyst Manish Godha said.
Five state assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will go to polls on different days beginning November 7 and counting of votes will take place on December 3.
