The Congress victory in Rajasthan was not without ironies. Nothing has surprised the Congress more than Pradesh Congress Committee president C P Joshi’s loss by a lone vote, effectively putting him out of the chief ministerial race. Though the results left a slew of senior Congress leaders, some even hopefuls for the top post, by the wayside, Congress workers are yet to digest Joshi’s defeat as he is credited not only for orchestrating the party’s victory, but also for being the driving force behind mobilising grassroots workers, planning campaigns and selecting candidates.Addressing mediapersons in Jaipur on Monday evening, Joshi only said, “This is how democracy works. I am not complaining too much as the party has managed the largest majority in the state. That is more important.” Putting up a brave face, Joshi said he would not ponder over his defeat for long as there was still work to be done, including cajoling at least five Independent candidates to back the Congress so that it can attain a majority in the Assembly.However, the defeat has effectively put him out of the race for the Chief Minister’s chair, in which he was a leading contender. But Joshi’s respect within the party was evident, when on Tuesday, three Congress victors agreed to resign from their constituencies and give Joshi another chance to make it to the House. The list included first-time MLAs Pushkar Dangi from Mavli in Udaipur district and Premchand Nagar from Pipalda in Kota district. “Joshiji is my guru and I will do anything for him. I offered to resign to let him fight as soon as I heard he lost the elections by one vote,” said Dangi, who was in Jaipur on Tuesday.Joshi’s supporters in Nathdwara, are still in a state of denial. Sandeep Singh, a software engineer, was in Jaipur to meet Joshi on Tuesday. “It is not fair, Joshi accompanied almost every senior Congress leader from New Delhi, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, on all their public meetings,” Singh said. “Perhaps if he could have spent a little more time campaigning in his home constituency, things might have been different,” he rued.A senior Congress leader who won on Monday said, “Joshiji was instrumental in this victory. He took over the reins as PCC chief early in 2008 and has worked tirelessly to bring the party together. Credit should also be given to Joshiji for enthusing Congress workers before the elections to mount this winning campaign.”
