There will be tough competition between the ruling and opposition parties in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for the next five years. This is because, this time, after 2003, Congress has received 69 seats for the first time as the opposition. Although the BJP is in power, they are lacking experienced leaders in the assembly. In terms of experience, Congress is expected to dominate the BJP in the assembly this time. Even in the first session of the 16th assembly, where the swearing-in of the legislators was scheduled, Congress was seen to have a stronger presence than the opposition.
The main reason for the weakness of the BJP in the assembly this time is that the leaders who strongly presented their views in the assembly in the past could not win this time. Former opposition leader Rajendra Rathore, former deputy opposition leader Satish Poonia, and former Assembly Speaker Kailash Meghwal could not win. These leaders used to follow the rules and laws of the assembly rather than creating a stir.
It is worth noting that Bhajan Lal Sharma is a first-time legislator and has been appointed as the Chief Minister. Therefore, he does not have much experience with the procedures and regulations of the assembly. It will take time for him to mature. Hence, the responsibility of other members of the ruling party will increase.
More responsibility for the BJP
In the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vasundhara Raje will have the most responsibility in the assembly to keep the opposition in check, due to the absence of Rathore, Poonia, and Meghwal this time. Along with them, the most senior legislator and pro tem speaker Kali Charan Saraf will also play an important role under the parliamentary rules. Meanwhile, Dr Kirorilal Meena, Anita Bhadel, Shrichand Kriplani, Pushpendra Singh Ranawat, Mahant Balkanath, Madan Dilawar, Dr Jaswant Yadav, and Pratap Singh Singhvi will also have more responsibility. Senior journalist turned legislator Dr Gopal Sharma is also considered to have good experience in the assembly. In this way, the party will keep him ahead in the assembly.
Congress will lack Mahesh Joshi, Bhaya, and Khachariyawas
Although Congress has lost many key figures in this assembly election, including former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Raghusharma, Parasadi Lal Meena, Ram Lal Jat, Mamta Bhupesh, and Mahendra Chaudhary, former Chief Secretary and Water Resources Minister Mahesh Joshi was not given a ticket by the party. In this way, the Congress will also lack prominent leaders. However, with Gehlot-Pilot and Dotasara along with Shanti Dhariwal, they could dominate the ruling party in the assembly in these five years. Dhariwal, while referring to the rules and regulations on the first day of the assembly, had surrounded the ruling party.
Congress’s position as the opposition
In 2003, Congress had 56 seats and in 2013, it had 21 seats. Currently, in 2023, the Congress party has 69 seats.