Political Crisis in Rajasthan – Burning Issues

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Congress High Command Worried

THE FAST-PACED political developments in Jaipur have alarmed the Congress high command in Delhi,
Rift between CM Ashok Gehlot and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot. (explained in detail later)
The crisis has prompted many leaders to recall the exit of Jyotiraditya Scindia and the fall of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh just three months ago.

The leaders admit that there is “deep distrust” between the two, manifested multiple times in the last one-and-a-half years.
Party leaders point out that the clash is part of the larger problem in the Congress as many of the “impatient” young leaders are worried about their “future” since the party is yet to resolve the leadership question and is showing little signs of revival.

The feud came to the fore during candidate selection for the Assembly elections, too, and escalated when the high command decided to give the experienced Gehlot a third shot at Chief Ministership, with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections around the corner.
The decision upset Pilot, who had staked a claim to the post since he had played a major role in reviving the party after being appointed as its state president one month after its worst-ever defeat in 2013.

The two crossed swords soon over portfolio allocation, forcing the then party chief Rahul Gandhi to intervene.
Gehlot kept nine departments, including Finance and Home, to himself.

Gehlot’s desire to field his son Vaibhav from Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha polls. • The Pilot camp alleged that Gehlot focused all his attention on Jodhpur and hardly campaigned elsewhere.

In October 2019, Pilot questioned the government’s decision to allow individuals who had not been directly elected by the people to contest mayoral polls.
He spoke out again when the government completed one year in December 2019, saying it did not showcase achievements under his Ministry while celebrating the landmark.

A month later, the two crossed swords again over the death of infants at a Kota hospital, with
Pilot saying that the government could have been “more sensitive and compassionate”. He argued that it may not serve any purpose to keep pointing to the previous government’s misdeeds,
Gehlot confidante and Health Minister Raghu Sharma’s comments blamed the BJP regime.
Gehlot and Pilot again traded words over visiting the victims’ families, too.

The latest flashpoint came during the Rajya Sabha elections when Gehlot alleged an attempt to topple his government by the BJP.
Pilot said: “I have been claiming that both our candidates shall win and what we claimed has turned out true. Any kind of doubts and suspicions spread around earlier were baseless.”

CM Gehlot has alleged that the BJP is attempting to topple his government by bribing Congress and Independent MLAs, triggering a fresh round of political uncertainty in the state.
On Saturday, Gehlot said BJP leaders have “gone beyond humanity” as they are tried to destabilise his government in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
Deputy CM Sachin Pilot is in Delhi with some of his loyalist MLAs.
Sachin Pilot has sought an intervention of the Central leadership in Delhi alleging that he has been ignored by the state officials.

December 11, 2018: State assembly election results declared, Congress wins to replace BJP government after being out of power for 15 years. Congress gets 114 seats and BJP 109 against the majority mark of 116 in the 230-member state assembly.
December 14, 2018: Kamal Nath stakes claim before Governor to form government with support of all the four independent, two BSP and one SP MLAs, thus claiming to have the strength of 121 MLAs in the House.
December 17, 2018: Kamal Nath, 72, sworn-in as the 18th chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
March 8, 2020: 19 Congress MLAs, most of them from GwaliorChambal region, including six ministers go incommunicado. They are traced in Bengaluru. Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh accuse BJP of holding the MLAs captive in a resort.
March 10, 2020: AICC general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia resigns from Congress.
March 11, 2020: Jyotiraditya Scindia joins BJP in Delhi.