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Rajasthan assembly polls 2018: Denied tickets, rebels look to derail plans of BJP, Congress
The prominent dissenters include former state ministers Mahadev Singh Khandela from Khandela, Babulal Nagar from Dudu, Lalit Bhati from Ajmer South and Brahmdev Kumawat from Masuda.
With just 48 hours left for the withdrawal of nominations for the Rajasthan assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress are both battling rebels.
In the Congress, senior party leaders said on condition of anonymity that at least 50 rebel leaders, including four former ministers and six former MLAs, could spoil the party’s chances in the December 7 polls. The party is looking to snatch power from the BJP in the heartland state.
The party has now designated senior leaders to manage the dissenting leaders. In Jaipur, for example, the exercise will be monitored by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik and Rajiv Shukla. The Congress has appointed coordinators with each team; in addition, state leaders such as former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state unit president Sachin Pilot, party general secretary in-charge Avinash Pande and four secretaries will also be in touch with the rebels.
The prominent dissenters include former state ministers Mahadev Singh Khandela from Khandela, Babulal Nagar from Dudu, Lalit Bhati from Ajmer South and Brahmdev Kumawat from Masuda. All have filed nomination as independent candidates. In addition to them, six former MLAs too have filed their nominations after being denied party tickets. They are CS Baid from Taranagar, Sanyam Lodha from Sirohi, Nathram Sinodia from Kishangarh, CL Premi from Keshoraipatan, Bhimraj Bhati from Pali, and Haji Abdul Kayum from Masudha.
The Congress has introduced 110 new faces and repeated 85 candidates in its list. Monday was the last day of filing nominations while November 22 is the last day for withdrawal of nominations.
The BJP, too, is in damage control mode after at least 20 rebel candidates filed their nomination, said party leaders on condition of anonymity. Five ministers and several MLAs have already resigned from the party after being dropped. The ministers who resigned are Surendra Goyal, Rajkumar Rinwa, Dhan Singh Rawat and Hem Singh Bhadana and all of them have filed nominations as independents.
Goyal is contesting from Jaitaran, Rinwa from Ratangarh, Rawat from Banswara and Bhadana from Thanagazi.
Among the prominent MLAs who resigned are Mahua MLA Om Prakash Hudla, Ladpura MLA Bhawani Singh Rajawat, Ramgarh MLA Gyandev Ahuja, Sagwara MLA Anita Katara, Sojat MLA Sanjana Agri, Malpura MLA Alka Singh, Sridungargarh MLA Kishna Ram Nai, Dungarpur MLA Devendra Katara, Ghatol MLA Navneetlal Ninama and Sikrai MLA Geeta Verma.
To manage the dissidence, chief minister Vasundhara Raje has reached out to the rebels and the party appointed a team of leaders to try and placate the rebels. This team comprises state BJP president Madanlal Saini, state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna and other senior leaders. The BJP has dropped four ministers, 60 MLAs and introduced 82 new faces in its list.
Officially, both parties denied reports of dissidence. “Party men going rebel is nothing new. It happens in all the parties when an individual is denied a ticket. Similarly, there is an aftermath to pacify them. Some are also assured place in government, once party comes in power,” said a senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
“We have very few rebels in our party. There are only about 15-20 of them who matter. Some have already relented,” senior BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. He did not disclose names of those who have relented.
Congress spokesperson Satyendra Singh Raghav said, “Efforts are being made to pacify rebels by senior leaders and we are hopeful that they will withdraw their nomination in support of party candidate.”
Analyst Narayan Bareth said it was unclear how much damage the rebels would inflict. “What has happened in these elections in ticket distribution has been never seen before – the kind of anarchy, mismanagement and protest are for the first time. Certainly, damage will be there as their image has been dented, rest it has to be seen to what extent they can repair it,” he said.
