For the Bharatiya Janata Party’s supporters, Rajasthan was synonymous with Vasundhara Raje Scindia till December last year, when defence minister Rajnath Singh quietly handed over a chit to her suggesting she wouldn’t be the next BJP chief minister and she would propose the pick — Bhajan Lal Sharma. Five months later, a big chunk of Rajasthan’s Lok Sabha seats appears to be slipping out of the BJP’s hands. And the person getting credit for the Congress resurgence five months after a rout in the assembly polls is Sachin Pilot.
The state has 25 parliamentary seats and the BJP was leading in 14 of them at the last count, with the Congress leading in 8. To put things in context, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had a 100% strike rate in the state in 2019. The BJP won 24 seats and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party bagged the remaining one. In 2014, the BJP won all 25 seats.
Dausa is a region where Congress leader Sachin Pilot has a strong influence, which includes assembly seats such as Bassi, Chaksu, Thanagazi, Bandikui, Mahuwa, Sikrai, and Dausa. Congress’s Murari Lal Meena has won from Dausa Lok Sabha seat this time, which is credited to Pilot. His own assembly seat that he fought from and won in 2023 is Tonk. Congress’s Harish Chandra Meena is ahead from the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur seat.
Gujjars, the community Sachin Pilot comes from, hold influence over around 30 seats, particularly in the Karauli area. Karauli-Dholpur is a Lok Sabha constituency located in the central Rajasthan region. Congress fielded Bhajan Lal Jatav from this seat and he was ahead of his BJP counterpart at the last count.
Pilot is equally influential in the Jhunjhunu area. Congress candidate Brijendra Singh Ola is leading from this seat. Ola is also known to be a strong supporter of Pilot. In 2020, when Pilot rebelled and went to Manesar in BJP-ruled Haryana, Ola was among the few leaders accompanying him.
The Congress in Rajasthan has been led for years by Ashok Gehlot who served three times as chief minister of the state, starting in 1998. But the 73-year-old is refusing to cede power while the young and energetic Sachin Pilot is out there, galvanising crowds and successfully wooing his community. Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot lost the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Jodhpur. This time he shifted to adjoining Jalore but lost despite Ashok Gehlot personally campaigning for him.
So, the question observers are asking is, will Pilot finally be the new face of the Congress in Rajasthan?
Comments
0 comment