The spirit of royalty is loyalty — honoured or betrayed. In the erstwhile princely state of Rajasthan, whose history is marked by intrigue, war and riveting romance, an electoral ambush happening in the deceptive dunes of democracy is a possibility. Instead of the chivalry that fueled the feudal warrior code of yore, caste flies the flag of power now. As the state gears up for polls, the battle lines are drawn not by ideology but by political liege lords donning the crowns of caste and region. But the nature of court gossip has not changed, and speculations spice up election masala. More than the delivery record of the Ashok Gehlot government, drawing room chatter and street corner scuttlebutt concerns whether Sachin Pilot will finally be the new Congress CM face and will BJP position Vasundhara Raje as the challenger to Gehlot or a younger substitute.
However, in both camps, caste prevails over merit. Both national parties have been holding secret parleys and public sit-downs to revive their respective organisations and boost government machinery. The Congress leads the news space. Former Deputy CM, the 45-year-old Pilot, has been on the road to drum up support for himself first and his party later. His objective is to connect with grassroots workers and convert the Gehlot government’s infirmity in taking action against corruption in the previous Raje administration. But his real target is Gehlot. Sachin’s explanation to his party and his promoters is that he is merely asking the High Command to honour its earlier commitment of declaring him the CM candidate before the elections. But they aren’t in an obliging mood. The big enchiladas feel that since age is on Sachin’s side, he can wait a bit more.
They haven’t forgiven him for his aborted attempt to topple the state government by walking out with 19-odd MLAs, a move considered to be prompted by the BJP. But caste is the real cause behind the Congress flip-flop. Gehlot has already broken a record by staying in power for three full terms: in 1998, 2008 and 2018. He became chief minister in 1998 when he was just 47—the first CM from a backward caste (malis) to break upper caste domination in Rajasthan politics. The BJP government he trounced was then controlled by the powerful Thakur leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Pilot’s play is to capture power on the dual basis of caste and merit. He has both a degree and a pedigree. The son of former Union minister Rajesh Pilot, Sachin studied abroad.
The Congress made him not just India’s youngest Central minister but also state party president. But unlike his father, who was a national player, Sachin chose the state arena plagued by caste and community contradictions. Rajesh was aware of his limitations and eventually abjured state politics to become a leader with prime ministerial possibilities. But Sachin deviated from his father’s playbook and chose Rajasthan as both his karma-bhumi and ran-bhumi. Under his leadership as state president, the Congress won around 100 seats in 2018 which put him in line to become the youngest CM of Rajasthan.
But Gehlot won the race and a by-election thanks to his wider acceptability among decision-makers. Many Congress leaders feel that Sachin is better qualified for a major national role than wasting his talent by confining himself to a state. They speculate that his rapport with the younger Gandhis could turbo his rise faster, and the time is ripe for geriatric leaders who occupy the CWC posts to be put to grass. However, while the Gandhis are convinced that Sachin’s youth and clean image are assets, his liability is his caste—the Gujjar community, which doesn’t have even a double-digit share in the state population. Sachin’s cardinal mistake was to identify himself with them when he went to jail over seeking ST status for Gujjars. Historically there is no love lost between Gujjars, Jats and Thakurs. Thakurs have gained at the cost of Gujjars while the Jats are still fighting to grab power.
It is no coincidence that Rajasthan has never had a Gujjar or Jat as CM. Of the 28 interim or formal chief ministers sworn in since Independence, 24 were from the Congress. The BJP had just two. Interestingly, the first interim Chief Minister was a Brahmin. Subsequently, the Congress appointed three Brahmin CMs — Jai Narayan Vyas, Tika Ram Paliwal and Hari Dev Joshi — whose rule, put together, lasted less than a decade. Significantly Nehru and Indira chose leaders from the insignificant Bania community to run the state in order to pacify feuding upper castes. Mohan Lal Sukhadia, a Jain, was CM for over 17 years, encompassing four terms. Experimenting with other castes like Dalits, Kayasth, and Muslims didn’t work for long. In 2018, Gehlot, being Backward, was placed on the throne again. The BJP was restricted to the Thakurs or royalty. Only the canny Vasundhara, who shifted from her maternal state Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan, could acquire the image of a sarva samaj leader because of her family relationship with both Gujjars and Jats.
The Congress has played safe by striking a caste balance, not allowing any dominant caste to dictate terms. Its hesitancy to install Sachin as CM stems from the reality that Gujjars have too many enemies among other communities. The party feels that Gehlot has mobilised all backward sections behind him and marginalised the Thakurs using welfare schemes and public outreach. Targeted welfare schemes have given him the image of Rahat Baba (Relief Baba). The High Command perceives Gehlot as a stabiliser and unifier who can win the ballot again. However, it is also obvious that he could be replaced with a younger leader like Sachin; but only after the election has been won.
The decision to retain Gehlot also stems from the fact that the BJP will deploy anti-incumbency rhetoric and promote Modi-backed caste leaders as alternatives. With Queen Bee Raje sidelined and sulking, the popular perception about CM aspirants like Bhupender Yadav (Ahir), Ashwini Vaishnaw (both Brahmin and a Marwari), Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Thakur) and Om Birla (Bania) is as representatives of their own castes; not leaders with the mojo and merit to lead the state. All of them have been attending massive conclaves organised by their communities. Rajasthan is undergoing a social transformation wherein upper caste and elite caucuses are out of the reckoning. The ironic level playing field is Backwards vs Backwards. Both Gehlot and Sachin are part of the new social chess game of India. Who is the pawn or the king will be decided by the caste satraps of a royal land where shatranj was a game of royals, by royals for royals.
Prabhu Chawla
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com
Follow him on Twitter @PrabhuChawla