‘Making Vyas a scapegoat isn’t fair’

‘‘She (Vyas) can be blamed only to the extent she has contributed to the setbacks. At worst, she can be made to share it with the Chief Minister,’’ he added.

Mathur did not make much of the move to saddle Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with two deputies, a Rajput and a Jat. ‘‘Caste lobbies have become active to cash in on the situation. Changes made in the nick of time have rarely helped parties in the past. Moreover, the question is which Jat leader has to be propped up. It has to be an established and accepted face.’’

Another former Chief Minister, Heera Lal Deopura, said: ‘‘It is the Government whose performance is on test at by-elections. A negative vote is obviously against the Government. It is not fair to change the PCC president by making her a scapegoat and letting the CM go scot-free. The installation of a new party chief would not make any difference. The high command must undertake an analysis of the poll-outcome.’’

Even octogenarian Nawal Kishore Sharma, who is tipped to succeed Vyas, is not happy with the change. Having been a state Congress president, AICC general secretary and a Union minister earlier, he is obviously not excited. Sources close to him say that Sharma finds the proposed changes ‘‘too little, too late’’.

‘‘They (high command) never heard us during the past four years (of Gehlot’s rule) and now, they suddenly want us to turn the party’s fortunes,’’ he is learnt to have told his aides.

For the record, however, Sharma told The Indian Express: ‘‘I am totally clueless about what is going on. I have only heard from your side (media) that I am being being named the state Congress chief. I am not at all in the queue for any post.’’

‘‘I am not aware of any replacement. It is for the leadership to throw light on the matter,’’ Vyas maintained.

Gehlot, on the other hand, is far from comfortable with Sharma, who can be trusted to work independent of the CM. Sources say Gehlot is pushing the name of his Cabinet colleague Bulaki Dass Kalla, a Brahmin, for party presidency. This clearly means that replacement of Vyas, even if carried through, would certainly not end Sonia Gandhi’s problems in the desert state.