‘Botched probe’ and caste panchayats to doctors’ protests: Rajasthan starts simmering in poll year

But, the protests against the Bill exposed a common grouse with Gehlot’s government: that he is quick to hand out assurances and that these may or may not be followed up. Those leading the protests have alleged the government “deceived” them at least thrice, forcing them to demand that the Bill be withdrawn altogether. This was also the reason why doctors hit the streets against the proposed legislation.

With each passing day, the health sector paralysis is taking a toll on patients, underlining the need for the government to find a way out of the gridlock sooner than later.

The second, and more recent, big issue is the acquittals in the 2008 Jaipur bomb blasts case. Flagging a “botched investigation” caused by “institutional failure”, the Rajasthan High Court acquitted all four men who were sentenced to death in 2019 in connection with the blasts that claimed 71 lives and injured 185 people.

The verdict hasn’t occupied as much space as the Right to Health Bill but may figure prominently in the BJP’s campaign leading into the elections, especially since identity politics is expected to be a bigger bet for the Opposition party with its new state president C P Joshi, a Brahmin, who wears his caste on his sleeve. In his first address after assuming charge of the state unit, Joshi said the state government was responsible for the murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal.

Quick on the draw, Gehlot has removed Rajendra Yadav as Additional Advocate General (AAG). But there are two issues here: what if the accused are actually not guilty? And, secondly, how can the AAG be blamed for a shoddy investigation done by the police and investigating officials? In its judgment too, the High Court directed Rajasthan’s Director General of Police (DGP) “to initiate appropriate enquiry/disciplinary proceedings against the erring officers of the investigating team”.

But since winning the perception battle is crucial in an election year, the government was quick to sack the AAG and announced that it would challenge the order in the Supreme Court. As identity politics works mostly to the advantage of the BJP, Gehlot doesn’t want to be found lacking.

Rivals within and outside

Beyond these two issues, what has changed in the last few weeks is that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former CM Vasundhara Raje — the two biggest politicians of Rajasthan — have emerged as the clear leaders of their respective parties for the top job.

Of the two, Gehlot has made more strides within the party and is far ahead of former deputy CM Sachin Pilot who is his immediate and only contender for the top job should the Congress return to power. In comparison, Raje has not made that much progress and still has to contend with the possibility that she will have to fend off the likes of Gajendra Singh Shekhawat or Om Birla if the BJP wins the elections.

While outside Rajasthan the perception may be that Gehlot and Pilot are neck and neck, Pilot has been increasingly isolated in the state. His several calls to the Congress high command to act on the notices to three party leaders, and take certain “measures” to enable the party’s return to power, have gone unheard. This has given the indication to the leaders and workers here that the high command, with or without its will, is backing Gehlot.

To make matters worse for Pilot, there have been smaller developments that betray the high command’s intentions, or helplessness. Recently, the party’s official national handle posted a video on Instagram of Gehlot as “Super Mario”. At the end of the level, it states, “2023-’28 Gehlot phir se (Gehlot once again)”. Asked about it, the CM claimed he had not seen the video and that the “high command decides the CM”.

More recently, on Saturday at the party’s programme for Jaipur division, Cabinet minister Mahesh Joshi reportedly raised a slogan calling for Gehlot to be made the CM for a fourth time. This happened when the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader in charge of the state, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, was on stage.

In BJP, former Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria and state president Satish Poonia who were considered to be Raje’s rivals for the top job are virtually out of the CM race. While Kataria was made the Governor of Assam, Poonia was removed as state president and on Sunday appointed as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Deputy LoP is more of an honorific post and is not even officially recognised by the Rajasthan Assembly.

Now at the helm of the state unit is Lok Sabha MP C P Joshi, who is the latest entrant in the race for CM’s post. Before Joshi, it was Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who made a mark at a Brahmin Mahapanchayat in Jaipur on March 19, with party workers seeing it as his complete transformation from a bureaucrat to a politician and that he is ready to take on more important positions, especially in his home state. Both Vaishnaw and Joshi are now being viewed in party circles as probable CM contenders.

The three others

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too has appointed a new state president, Naveen Paliwal of Kota, along with seven MLAs as co–in-charge of the state and plans to contest all 200 seats. At a short campaign yatra in Jaipur last month, Kejriwal asked people to vote out the “Vasundhara Raje Ashok Gehlot party” and vote for an honest AAP.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), too, is hoping to make inroads in the state, with party chief Asaddudin Owaisi addressing public

meetings in Bharatpur, Tonk, Jodhpur and Barmer. Unlike the AAP’s focus on 200 seats, the AIMIM will stick to about a tenth of those seats to better utilise its resources.

In the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam is overseeing the preparations in Rajasthan since Akash Anand, its national coordinator and party chief Mayawati’s nephew, has been busy with his wedding. The party will focus on 50 seats. Of these three parties, the BSP has been carrying out an understated campaign but may be the only one to win any seat. While the AAP is not expected to make a mark, the AIMIM may, at best, eat into the Congress’s vote share.

Caste panchayats

With the elections approaching, this is also the season for caste panchayats. The Jats did it first, with their Jat Mahakumbh, demanding that the next CM should be from their community, among other things. Then came the Brahmin Mahapanchayat that made the news for Vaishnaw’s speech.

Within four days of that, the BJP removed Poonia, a Jat, as its state president and appointed Joshi in his place, with the “success” of the Mahapanchayat cited as one of the reasons for his appointment.

On Sunday, the Rajputs held a Kesariya Mahapanchayat in Jaipur while Dalits and Scheduled Tribes (STs) organised an SC-ST Mahapanchayat in the Capital. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, these Mahapanchayats cause in the two leading parties.