NEW DELHI: The Congress party in Rajasthan may see another camp emerging within the party, apart from Sachin Pilot’s and ex chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s, in the face of the state cadre unit president Govind Singh Dotasra. He is, according to leaders, expected to assert himself with more authority in the times to come.
Such increased excercise of authority is expected to be, a leader said, a direct follow-up to the meaty chunk of 11 seats (out of the 25) the Congress broke away from the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently held Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, the credit of which has been worn by the state unit president Dotasra.
At the core of it, according to a leader privy to the developments, lies the natural evolution of ambitions in a political leader who is helming a powerful political position. Therefore, Dotasra, according to people close to Pilot, is positioning himself as another standalone leader which could thwart the freeway for Pilot’s ascension. According to a section of leaders, Pilot has started becoming wary of Dotasra due to his increased acceptance in the party as an administrative figurehead after the Congress’ won a considerable number of parliamentary seats. It is said that Pilot wants to have firm hold on the cadre, its leaders, and the perception in the state.
A Congress leader said, “Someone has to take the credit for good performance and it is always the chief of the party unit who takes the credit. In addition to that, when Pilot was the president of the state unit, he drew a blank, he could not even win one seat. However, it wasn’t only the role of a party chief that worked this time. He wasn’t the one who turned the tide from one side to the other alone. But BJP’s performance was weak at the policy level in the state. Congress was also going through near about same problems which the BJP was facing, but the party fitted well in the caste equation. For example, Jats and Gurjars were on our side and several other castes also voted for us, which put us on the front foot and made us win around a dozen seats.”
With the Gehlot’s role receding in the party, there is an understanding that a section from his camp could start realigning with the existing power holders in the organisation and help Dotasra in building up his camp. Talking about the declining importance of Gehlot in the state, a Congress leader said, “Ashok Gehlot is very weak politically right now. He is also not in good health. He is politically inactive and we can also say that there may not be much for him in the Congress party anymore as Rahul Gandhi has distanced himself from Gehlot. Therefore, the only prime and populist leader in the state is Pilot, and he wouldn’t want to share that political power with anyone and reduce his primacy in the state.
Subsequently, Pilot would not let any emerging leader to take more than he thinks is necessary for him to take, which may put Dotasra on backfoot considering the proximity Pilot shares with the Gandhi siblings.”
However, other leaders closely associated with leaders at the centre say that until Mallikarjun Kharge is the President of the party, Gehlot’s comeback cannot be ruled out as they share a cordial relationship with each other. As the state will see five assembly seats running for bypolls, state general secretary Sunil Amaeriya suggested that the two prime leaders still hold a consequential importance in Rajasthan. He said, “It is Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot who will be prominent in the upcoming bypolls on five seats, we are going to win them all. Moreover, Govind Singh Dotasra is the president of the state cadre which makes him an important person as well.”
A senior political analyst who has worked on ground and prepared surveys for several parties during elections said, “There has not been a Jat leader in Rajasthan who has been Chief Minister in its history. Jats are seen as a violent community and therefore, they are not accepted by the masses in that role. They are seen as tough people in the society. And if by chance Congress does project a Jat leader as its chief minsterial face in coming time, all other communities could go against the Congress. That is why in Rajasthan, no Jat leader has been projected as such till now. BJP leader Satish Poonia tried a lot but failed eventually in getting a nod from the party’s high command. Actually, the concept of Jat being appointed CM is not accepted by the people, Brahmin are also 6% and they could subsequently go against Congress as well as Gurjars who are around 5% in the state.”