Even as election heat picks up in Rajasthan for the 23 November polls, the voters’ mood will get clearer gradually. The confusion over the voters’ inclination will go away in the next few days. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is leading the poll campaign single-handedly on behalf of Congress.
Congress leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi and KC Venugopal will be campaigning aggressively from November 16.
There is no ambiguity about issues for the Congress party. CM Gehlot’s seven guarantees and other public welfare schemes will be focused on. Caste census, farmers’ issues, etc. will also be highlighted by the Congress to hit out at the Central government.
The BJP is also clear about the poll issues. The issues like Kanhaiya Lal murder, paper leak, corruption, etc. are being raised by the BJP. CM Gehlot also gave the BJP an opportunity to raise the Kanhaiya Lal murder case by referring to it during his speech.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP CM Yogi Adityanath will be more vocal about the Kanhaiya Lal murder case after Gehlot’s statement on this issue. These leaders have already hinted that all efforts will be made to highlight the issues having polarisation appeal. The issue of allegedly worsening law and order issue will also be a crucial issue for the BJP leaders.
The BJP has, for the first time, sidelined former CM Vasundhara Raje in polls. The saffron party is contesting polls on PM Modi’s face. The party is focussing on Modi and the party symbol ‘lotus’. Modi is also seeking votes highlighting lotus symbols in videos.
In a significant strategy, Naresh Arora has tried to add a twist to the Congress’ campaign. Congress posters are featuring big pictures of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Similarly, Sachin Pilot’s picture has also been carried along with Ashok Gehlot’s face on the posters in what is being seen as a message of unity. Surprisingly, PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra’s picture is not visible prominently on the posters.
Analysts believe that if this step has been taken to woo Gujar votes, it is not going to make much impact. Congress needs to put in hard work to break the tradition of government change in Rajasthan. Experiments are not going to do any wonders now.