A few months ago, Jyotiraditya Scindia, one of the Congress’s main vote catchers and part of the ‘Gen Next’ of the party, took his loyalists and joined the BJP camp. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, now the MP CM bent over backward to accommodate Jyotiraditya’s men into the cabinet, while this former staunch Congressman was made a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh.
To the untrained eye, it seems the same is happening in Rajasthan, with Sachin Pilot threatening to unseat CM Ashok Gehlot. The power balance between Gehlot and Pilot was shaky from the start- it seemed both didn’t like to work with each other, contrary to what the Congress old guard had hoped.
With Pilot unseated from the post of Deputy CM and Pradesh Congress Committee head, the turmoil in the Congress government of Rajasthan seems to move towards uncertainty. This is partly due to Pilot refusing to join the BJP. He has various options, from launching a new regional party to a more adventurous campaign of splitting the Congress into half with all those who are unhappy with the old guard joining him.
One must not forget that it was Pilot in Rajasthan that steered the Congress to victory while the same was the case with Jyotiraditya in Madhya Pradesh. BJP and other parties now know the vulnerabilities of the Congress leadership and will try every means to get their disgruntled leaders on board.
Congress, on the other hand, needs to introspect. It has to solve the Central leadership wrangles and unite all the sparring factions to put up a formidable fight against the BJP. Till that is done, Congress’ very survival is in threat, and that can be a sorry day for India’s democracy.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are from the author and do not necessarily reflect any individual or party.
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