NEW DELHI: Holding primaries within the Congress was one of Rahul Gandhi’s aborted ideas. Conceived ostensibly to promote inner-party democracy, in reality, it was a euphemism for a proposed process to cut the clutter of rival candidates in a party famous for defeating itself from within. In the crucial upcoming polls, in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in particular, the duality of the leadership is a case in point. Kaun banega mukhya mantri — who’ll the CM — in the event of a Congress win?
Not that infighting is confined to the Congress. In the BJP, too, there are quips galore on the theory that incumbent Vasundhara Raje may be faced with a Prem Kumar Dhumal-like situation in Rajasthan (who, as a contesting CM, had lost his own seat in the Himachal polls last year).
But, in the Congress, it’s on another plane altogether. Young Rajasthan PCC chief Sachin Pilot, breaking a long tradition of his party, is contesting from Tonk, a seat with a sizeable Muslim population.
But Pilot, who has not hidden his chief ministerial ambitions, is not only up against the BJP’s Yunus Khan in that seat. His real contest is with party old guard and former CM Ashok Gehlot, who, too, has joined the fray from Sardarpur, keeping intact his chances of having another go at the CM’s post.