The bypolls in four Assembly constituencies of Rajasthan have become quite important for the Congress and the BJP. The results of these bypolls will have their bearing on politics of both the national parties.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is hopeful of sweeping all the four seats on the basis of his government’s performance and farmers’ resentment against the Centre’s farm laws. Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore, a close confidante of Ashok Gehlot, claimed that the Congress will sweep all the four Assembly seats in the bypolls.
The BJP, at the same time, is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity to win these bypolls. However, both the parties are facing infighting. The factionalism in the BJP has assumed much more serious proportions, with a section of party trying to isolate former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. The matter has reached the high command. The situation has come to such a pass that MLAs loyal to Raje are not being allowed to ask questions in Assembly.
In fact, internal fighting between Raje and the high command had begun ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls. Situation did not improve even after the defeat of the BJP. The party high command also started promoting those leaders who were in the anti-Raje camp.
Attempts were made to topple the Gehlot government but it came a cropper.
The high command of the BJP was informed that Raje did not cooperate in this political mission. Actually, Raje was not in favour of dislodging the elected government on the pattern of what was done in Madhya Pradesh.
Situation does not seem to be improving despite Raje’s meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda. Sources say that the central BJP leadership wants Raje to be shifted to the Centre.
So, the Congress finds itself in an advantageous position due to what is going on in the BJP in Rajasthan. It is also to be taken note of is that Congress leader Sachin Pilot continues to run his own parallel organisational system in the Congress.
The four seats going to bypolls are Sahada and Rajsamand of Bhilwara district, Sujangarh of Churu district, and Vallabhnagar of Udaipur district. Barring Rajsamand, all the other three seats were with Congress earlier. Sujangarh MLA Bhanwarlal Meghwal had died because of some illness. But all the other three legislators had succumbed to coronavirus. These deaths necessitated the bypolls.
The Congress wants to win all these four seats keeping in view the arithmetic of the house. At the same time, the faction of the BJP, which is against Raje, would want to win all these seats in order to strengthen its position in the eyes of high command.
The Congress and the BJP are in direct contest in these seats. Gehlot had assigned responsibilities to his strong ministers in these seats. Ministers Raghu Sharma has been given Sahada, Udai Lal Anjana has been assigned Rajsamand, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas has been asked to take care of Vallabhnagar and Bhanwar Singh Bhati has been given responsibility of Sujangarh.
Dharmendra Rathore, who is close to Gehlot and who is looking after Sahada along with Raghu Sharma, said that the Congress would sweep all these seats. Rathore further said, “We are going to public showcasing the two years’ achievements of the Gehlot government and exposing the three black farm laws of the Central government. Farmers are angry with the Modi government and the BJP.”