In an apparent bid to bring about a ‘generational shift’ — a buzzword in the party since the induction of Rahul Gandhi as AICC general secretary 13 months ago — in its leadership, the Congress has denied tickets to several old leaders in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan. But true to the tradition in the grand old party, the baton of leadership has gone to the kin of those denied tickets — from former chief minister Jagannath Pahadia to his son Sanjay Pahadia in Weir Assembly constituency; from former state minister Ramnarayan Choudhury to his daughter Rita Kumari on Mandawa seat; from former state minister Tayyab Hussain to his daughter Zahida on Kaman seat, and from former minister Khet Singh Rathore to his nephew Umed Singh Rathore in Shergarh. The list of Congress candidates for 116 seats, released by the Central Election Committee on Wednesday, also included a relative of President Pratibha Patil’s husband Devi Singh Shekhawat — Vijendra Singh for Udaipurwati Assembly constituency. All of them will debut in an Assembly election. Union Minister Sis Ram Ola’s son Brijendra Singh Ola, who had lost thrice in the Assembly elections, was given party ticket yet again for Jhunjhunu Assembly constituency. With the party yet to declare candidates on the remaining 84 seats, relatives of many other veteran leaders are hoping for tickets, said sources. Earlier, the Congress had allotted party tickets to AICC treasurer Motilal Vora’s son and former Union Minister Arvind Netam’s daughter in Chhattisgarh. While the Congress leadership chose not to project AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot as the CM candidate in the forthcoming Assembly elections — given the Jat community’s reservation against him—- the former CM had a major say in the ticket distribution exercise. Most of the Congress candidates in the last Assembly election, backed by Gehlot at that time, have been repeated notwithstanding the election results. Many ministers in Gehlot Cabinet, who had lost Shanti Dhariwal and Chandrabhan, for instance, have got party tickets. The biggest indicator of how much the former CM wielded influence in ticket distribution process came from the nomination of a Jaipur-based jeweller Rajiv Arora as party candidate for Malviyanagar seat.
