The Rajasthan Assembly elections slated for December 4 are being fought more on the image of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who is being projected by the Congress as westernised, image-conscious and publicity-hungry rather than as one caring for the aam admi. Coupled with corruption during her tenure and the killings of over 70 Gurjars, besides farmers, Adivasis and Dalits, the Congress campaign is focused on Raje, unlike the BJP campaign in the Congress-ruled Delhi Assembly polls, where BJP satraps are focussing on nailing the development agenda of the Shiela Dikshit Government.
To the BJP slogan of Nahi rukega Rajasthan (Rajasthan is unstoppable), the Congress response is, Nahi Bikega Rajasthan (Rajasthan will not be sold), with the Congress accusing Raje of selling land close to the border with Pakistan, like Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer, besides the selling of Amer Haveli and the farmers’ land, which Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleged made the middlemen richer by Rs 25 crore.
As one enters, Jaipur, hoardings with Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are all around declaring Raj badal kar dam lega, ab nahi jhukega Rajasthan (We will not rest till the regime is changed. Now, Rajasthan will not bend). Asked where and how the BJP government compromised the selfrespect of Rajasthan, Congress leaders have no answer. All they say is that it was just coined in response to the BJP slogan. Punning on the BJP slogan of “Jai, Jai Rajasthan,” the Congress has come up with “Bye, Bye Rajasthan.” Electioneering in the state has picked-up, following withdrawal of nominations. As some of the party rebels refused to pull out of the fray, the BJP cracked the whip and expelled Meena leader Kirori Lal Meena and former BJP royal and prominent Jat face Vishvendra Singh. The Congress rebels have been welcomed by the BJP. Jaswant Yadav is contesting on BJP ticket in Behrode, Habibur Rehman in Nagaur, Radhey Shyam in Sri Ganganagar and Shailen Joshi in Bandikuian. It is the induction of former minister Janardhan Singh Gehlot from the Congress into the BJP, which has caused heartburn. Gehlot is considered discredited, as he lost by a huge margin. But the entry of Janardhan Singh Gehlot is being projected as a victory for the BJP, with Vasundhara Raje Scindia personally welcoming him in full media glare.
Both parties fielded new faces, fearing the anti-incumbency factor.
While the Congress has brought in 90 new faces, half of the BJP tickets have gone to new faces.
The real test for both is wooing the Gujjars and Meenas. More than the Congress, it is the BJP, which will be affected by the Gujjar- Meena rivalry. The Gujjars are openly against Raje. Prahlad Gunjal, second-in-command during the Gujjar agitation, has vowed to defeat Vasundhara Raje, though the Congress denied him ticket. “My biggest rival is the Chief Minister and I will not sit peacefully until I defeat her,” he declared.
AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot, who is again gunning for the top post, told Express that the Congress has identified the Raje government’s misrule, insensitiveness and corruption as principal electoral issues. The Congress cites infighting, which even triggered caste assertions and tensions.
A senior leader Kailash Meghwal levelling serious corruption charges against Vasundhara Raje in the presence of BJP national leaders and Raje’s running feuds with former Vice - President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and senior leader Jaswant Singh are being cited by the Congress.
It senses a scam in the Raje Government move to invoke Section 90 (B) of the Revenue Act of 1956, to regularise land conversions, at nominal charges. Gehlot said, “If voted to power, the Congress will repeal Section 90 (B) of the Revenue Act.
The insensitivity of the Raje Government is being illustrated by the 22 police firings during the BJP rule that targeted major sections like farmers, Adivasis, Dalits and Gujjars and the lathi-charge in front of the chief minister’s residence on a demonstration by women. The government inaction or delayed action during the Mehrangarh Fort temple stampede, or the Pali and Barmer floods are also cited as examples of insensitivity.
While traditionally it has been a straight contest between the Congress and the BJP, the entry of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) into the fray has certainly caused ripples.
Though the contest is mainly between the Congress and the BJP, the BSP has also fielded its candidates in all the 200 constituencies.
While the BJP is confident that BSP will cut into the Congress vote, which is also banking on Dalits and the downtrodden, the Congress believes that except for the Jatav belt in Bharatpur, Dholpur and Alwar on the UP border, it will have no impact elsewhere. In Jaipur and Jodhpur, the BSP presence will mar the prospects of both the Congress and the BJP.