With Assembly elections in Rajasthan beckoning.... Gujarat was a semi-final, it seems. Sangeeta Pranvendra takes a stump view of how the Congress netas from the state are slogging hard to redeem lost glory and make their presence felt... as they say it’s all fair in Poll Battle
Gujarat polls will soon come to an end; phase one of the polls is over and as dates for the second phase draw closer, there is a mad scramble among the politicians of Rajasthan to reach the neighbouring state and be seen campaigning.
This urge to temporarily move westwards is equally palpable in Congress and the BJP. This is probably the first time that Rajasthani politicians have descended in such large numbers to campaign in Gujarat.
If one were to think that the khadi brigade is going all out to ensure victory for their respective parties; reconsider it. Gujarat elections are the easy and timely means Rajasthan politicians can use to pave smoother paths for themselves in the Assembly polls slated to be held next year.
What makes Gujarat elections more important for the politicos of Rajasthan is the spiced up fight due to the presence of Rahul Gandhi and first time not having Narendra Modi as rallying point. Claims to contributing towards a win would surely go a long way.
From BJP, ministers from the centre and state along with MPs, MLAs and party functionaries are keen to walk the extra mile to escort candidates filing nominations, for campaigning in rallies and are even going door-to-door to distribute voter slips. According to a BJP leader who did not wish to be named, “These elections are vital and party president Amit Shah is closely monitoring them. His is the best opportunity to mark one’s presence.”
For Congress, the Rajasthan connect gets stronger as former CM Ashok Gehlot, a maverick politician is the closest aide Rahul Gandhi has kept all through the campaign. Rajasthan PCC chief Sachin Pilot too pitched his weight in the campaign. The grand old party has sent present and former MLAs, former MPs and senior functionaries. Also they have focused on calling leaders from Bikaner, Jodhpur and tribal districts of Mewar to tap the locals settled in Gujarat.
WHAT THEY HOPE TO REAP
It would not be incorrect to say that political battles of Rajasthan are being fought on Gujarat turf. The battles are for supremacy over rivals, gaining favour of party supremos and most importantly to use the time and effort invested to reap political security and favours for themselves next year. Winning has its own pleasures, but irrespective of which party wins or loses Gujarat, the Rajasthanis are fighting a totally different battle.
POLITICIANS FROM BJP
- Om Mathur
- Ashok Parnami
- Gulab Chand Kataria
- Kiran Maheshwari
- Om Birla
- CP Joshi
- Gajendra Singh
- PP Choudhry
- CR Choudhry
- Ramcharan Bohra
- Arun Chaturvedi
- Devji Patel
- Rajendra Rathore
- Mohanlal Gupta
- Bhajan Lal Sharma
POLITICIANS FROM CONGRESS
- Ashok Gehlot- Former CM
- Sachin Pilot - PCC chief
- Rameshwar Dudi- Leader of Opposition
- Govind Dotasra - chief whip
- Rajkumar Sharma - Former minister
- B D Kalla - Former minister & PCC Chief
- Dr Chandrabhan- Former minister & PCC Chief
- Mahendra Jeet Malviya - Former minister
- Rajendra Pareek- Former minister
- Ashok Chandna- MLA
- Dheeraj Gurjar- MLA
- Bhanwar Singh Bhati- MLA
- Darshan Singh- MLA
- Mevaram Jain- MLA
- Jakir Hussain- Former MLA
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 "Rahul Gandhi")
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