It all started with the Gehlot-Pilot power tussle and intra-party strife in the state unit, which has now morphed into an unlikely camaraderie between the chief minister and his former deputy in the run-up to the polls. The Congress has mainly focused on the works and performance of the Ashok Gehlot-led government, its schemes and programmes and also banked on the promise of “seven guarantees” if the party retains power.
The BJP, meanwhile, has used the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top brass like Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to attack the grand old party on issues concerning crime against women, appeasement, corruption and paper leak. It will be difficult to erase images of Adityanath’s “bulldozer” road show on the last day of campaigning.
In a show of unity, meanwhile, Gehlot on Friday posted a video on social media platforms in which party leader Sachin Pilot is making an appeal to people to vote for the Congress. This assumes significance as national president Mallikarjun Kharge may have stepped in on time to resolve the Gehlot-Pilot tussle, but that did not stop the BJP from using it in their fierce campaign with the prime minister also referring to it.
Gehlot posted the 1.51-minute video on his social media platforms X, Facebook and Instagram. In the video, Pilot is seen making an appeal to people to vote for the Congress, saying the feedback, public response and inclination of voters clearly shows that his party is going to form the government again.
The two leaders have been at loggerheads over the post of CM ever since the Congress formed the government in December 2018, which also made Pilot resort to rebellion against Gehlot’s leadership in 2020 that led to a political crisis. But, ahead of the elections, the party said things have been sorted out and both have said the past should be forgotten.
Prime Minister Modi, however, slammed the treatment of Pilot saying a Gurjar’s son who gave his life to the Congress was removed like a fly in milk after the party came to power in Rajasthan. He also accused the party of punishing Sachin Pilot by meting out the same treatment to him as his father Rajesh Pilot.
The PM said anyone who speaks the truth in the grand old party is shunted out of politics, suggesting that Rajesh Pilot lost favour with the Congress leadership after he contested against Sitaram Kesri for the president’s post in 1997.
Pilot hit back and said his father was a dedicated Congress leader throughout his life and PM Modi’s statements were far from the truth and aimed at diverting people’s attention. The leader belongs to the Gurjar community, which has influence in eastern Rajasthan districts where the Congress had won a majority of seats in the previous assembly election.
The BJP is contesting on all seats while Congress has left one seat – Bharatpur – for its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) like in the 2018 elections. Apart from the BJP and Congress, other parties including CPI (M), RLP, Bharat Adiwasi Party, Bhartiya Tribal Party, Aam Aadmi Party, and AIMIM are also contesting.
Congress
Gehlot, Pilot, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra, assembly speaker CP Joshi, several ministers including Shanti Dhariwal, BD Kalla, Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Saleh Mohammad, Mamta Bhupesh, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Rajendra Yadav, Shakuntla Rawat, Udai Lal Anjana, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya and Ashok Chandna are among the Congress leaders contesting.
The Congress has fielded 97 MLAs, including seven independents and one from BJP – Shobharani Kushwah who was expelled from the saffron party last year. One of the major faces who joined the BJP from the Congress is former MP from Nagaur Jyoti Mirdha, who is contesting the assembly election. Former chief secretary Niranjan Arya is trying his luck in politics as a Congress candidate.
BJP
In BJP, leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, deputy leader of opposition and former state president Satish Poonia, former CM Vasundhara Raje, MPs Diya Kumari, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Baba Balaknath and Kirodi Lal Meena are in the fray. Gurjar leader late Kirodi Singh Bainsla’s son Vijay Bainsla is also contesting as BJP candidate.
The BJP has given tickets to 59 MLAs, including defected Congress MLA Girraj Singh Malinga and six Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha member.
Others in the fray
Nagaur MP and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) convener Hanuman Beniwal is also contesting. The RLP is contesting the election in alliance with Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) led by Chandrashekhar Azad. More than 40 rebels of BJP and Congress are also in the fray. The RLD currently holds the Bharatpur seat and, Subhash Garg, who is the sitting MLA is contesting the elections as the party candidate.
At present, Congress has 107 MLAs, BJP 70, 3 RLP, 2 each of CPI(M) and Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP), 1 RLD, 13 are independents and two seats (Udaipur and Karanpur) are vacant.
Here is all you need to know about polling in Rajasthan on November 25:
- Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in 199 out of 200 constituencies amid tight security arrangements, said chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta. Due to the death of Gurmeet Singh Koonar, who was the incumbent MLA and Congress candidate in Sriganganagar’s Karanpur seat, election in this constituency has been adjourned.
- At least 1,862 candidates are in the fray with the number of voters being 5,25,38,105. These include 1,70,99,334 voters in the age group of 18-30, and out of them, 22,61,008 are new voters in the 18-19 age group.
- Gupta said polling stations have been set up at 36,101 places. “A total of 10,501 polling stations have been set up in urban areas and 41,006 in rural areas. Live webcasting will be conducted at 26,393 stations. These polling centres will be monitored from the district level control room,” he said.
- Across the state, 65,277 ballot units, 62,372 control units and 67,580 VVPAT machines including reserves will be used for voting. One additional EVM will also be given to all sector officers, who will take action for repair and replacement if a machine-related defect is reported.
- The chief electoral officer said to ensure free, fair and peaceful conduct of elections, 6,287 micro observers and 6,247 sector officers with reserves have been appointed, who will immediately resolve any kind of problem by coordinating with the polling parties.
- There are 2,74,846 polling personnel to conduct the voting – 7,960 women at polling stations managed by women and 796 disabled polling personnel at stations managed by the disabled. Wheelchairs have been arranged for voting at all polling booths.
- A total of 1,02,290 security personnel have been deployed to ensure peaceful voting. A total force of 69,114 police personnel, 32,876 Rajasthan Home Guard, Forest Guard and RAC personnel have been deployed and 700 companies of CAPF have been deployed.
- Three flying squads (FS) and as many static surveillance teams (SST) will be deployed in each assembly constituency for intensive checking and monitoring on voting day. One additional FS and SST each will be deployed in expenditure-sensitive polling stations. There will be availability of at least three quick response teams (QRT) at each polling station.
- Sealing and checking action will be taken at check posts along the 4,850-km interstate border with Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab to prevent the entry of unwanted outsider elements.
- Security arrangements have been tightened and more than 1,70,000 personnel including companies of central paramilitary forces (CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, SSB, RPF etc) and armed forces of 18 other states are slated to be deployed. DGP (law and order) Rajeev Sharma said more than 70,000 Rajasthan Police personnel, 18,000 Rajasthan Home Guards, 2,000 Rajasthan Border Home Guards, 15,000 Home Guards of other states (UP, Gujarat, Haryana, MP), 120 RAC companies will also be involved.
(With PTI inputs)