JAIPUR: The failure of ‘Operation Kamal’ in Rajasthan and the return of Sachin Pilot to the Congress fold is a major jolt to the BJP. The high-profile rift in the Congress had raised the BJP's hope to repeat the Madhya Pradesh experiment in Rajasthan as party leaders in the state and at the central level had made extensive plans to use Sachin Pilot’s rebellion to topple the Gehlot government.
Sources say that BJP strategists had made elaborate plans to make use of Congress infighting and the party was hoping to encash the Congress rift to return to power in Rajasthan. However, just as the BJP was getting ready to unseat Gehlot, frictions among state leaders and their own factionalism came to the fore.
However, their big hopes of Sachin Pilot crossing over with over 30 MLAs never materialized for despite staying in Manesar for about a month, the Pilot camp numbers could not rise beyond the 19 MLAs they had started with. In contrast, Gehlot’s numbers never came down below the 101 majority mark. Though the BJP still remained hopeful that with Pilot’s support they will be able to succeed in their game to dislodge the Gehlot government, Pilot’s return to the Congress fold on Monday evening has shattered all their hopes and calculations. For the moment, all their hopes of effecting a change of government in Rajasthan now stand dashed.
One of the prime reasons for the BJP failure is the fact that the state party unit is also divided into many factions. Firstly, there is the RSS faction with state Chief Satish Poonia and Leader of Opposition Kataria as its prominent leaders. Then comes the faction loyal to PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah which is led by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The third faction is of Vasundhara Raje loyalists. Each faction was keen that their chosen leader should be the next CM in case there is a change of government in Rajasthan.
The BJP had to even shift about two dozen of its MLAs into a resort in Gujarat which reflects the growing turmoil within its ranks. Problems were compounded for the BJP’s central leadership just when they were looking to bring down the Gehlot Government as their own clan was not united in Rajasthan. This prompted the BJP to park its MLAs in Gujarat fearing poaching and a scenario similar to Congress when Sachin Pilot brought the internal divisions to the fore.
While they may be shy of expressing their divisions openly, there are many leaders nurturing Chief ministerial dreams in the BJP’s state unit. Raje loyalists became the most vocal and senior leader Kailash Meghwal and MLA Pratap Singhvi came out openly in support of Raje who still commands full loyalty of about 30 of the BJP’s 72 MLAs in the state.
Vasundhara Raje herself camped in Delhi over the past one week and her complaints about the state unit to the BJP central leadership went a long way in weakening the BJP resolve in Rajasthan. Raje's tough posturing with the BJP High Command in the last few days was perhaps the final straw as she played a key role in making the Central leadership realize the futility of trying to repeat an MP in Rajasthan. Vasundhara has been sidelined by the BJP High command for a long time but now she has emerged stronger after this episode.
According to BJP sources, Raje was never keen to allow Sachin Pilot’s entry into the BJP or get back the power with Pilot’s support. In contrast, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had encouraged the alliance or understanding with Pilot to bring down the Gehlot government. However, Shekhawat himself got embroiled in the ‘audio tape’ controversy which has spoilt his image and his efforts have borne no positive results.
The BJP’s aim now is to prevent any open reflection of its internal rift. After Pilot’s return to the Congress, the BJP has even postponed a meeting of its MLAs, earlier scheduled for Tuesday to after Janmashtami. Party leaders are disappointed at missing out a chance to topple the Gehlot government but as the Leaders of Opposition, Gulab Chand Kataria remarked, the party will now play an aggressive role in the coming Assembly session and will raise all issues that could put the Gehlot government in the dock.