The saffron party is banking on the Congress’ infighting.
NEW DELHI: The Congress’ crisis in Rajasthan may have given the BJP a reason to cheer, but its own “internal fighting” is giving it sleepless nights at the same time. The saffron party believes that if the Congress high command somehow hands over the CM post to Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan, then it will have a cakewalk victory in the Assembly elections. But if Gehlot stays on as CM, then the electoral battle will be a challenging one for the BJP. What the BJP is presently facing is an intense infighting for the CM post if it comes to power. The leadership has already decided not to project any CM face.
Meanwhile, what gives more anxious moments to BJP is the fact that Gehlot has gained more public sympathy after the recent Congress crisis. His people-friendly decisions have also earned the CM a lot of support. Old pension scheme, urban job guarantee, Chiranjeevi Health Scheme, 100 unit free electricity, etc. are some of the decisions that have benefited the Gehlot government politically. Some of the non-BJP states are also forced to follow Gehlot in terms of these decisions. In the upcoming budget, Gehlot may take some more surprising decisions that would benefit the party politically.
Weathering all challenges, Gehlot is taking decisions freely to ensure that the Congress retains power in the next elections. The only hope for the BJP is the internal tussle of the Congress. It is banking on Congress’ infighting as the saffron party is itself witnessing faction fighting. There is the BJP versus former CM Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan.
But after the tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP is trying to give a message that all is well in the party. The Raje faction wants her to be projected as CM face. But the high command does not seem to agree. There are several other leaders in the race. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, BJP state president Satish Puniya, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Om Mathur, MP C.P. Joshi, Rajwardhan Singh Rathore and Diya Kumari Singh are some of the names. The BJP also has a long list of candidates. But only Raje has tremendous clout in every nook and corner of the state. She has already organised several yatras in a show of strength.
So, the BJP is eyeing the internal fight of the Congress to gain from it.
If Congress fights under Gehlot’s leadership, it will be challenging for the BJP to win, as the CM has solid understanding of equations in every single seat. Sachin Pilot is of course a celebrity kind of leader, but he is not politically that savvy. The BJP wanted Congress to project Sachin Pilot as CM face in 2018, for it would have made Raje’s return an easier task then.
The BJP was ready to raise the issue of Rajasthani versus non-Rajasthani if Pilot had been projected in 2018. But Gehlot was made CM face and the Congress romped home.