“Khata kya ki humne, pata he nahi” (What was our crime, we don’t know) This is the first line of a poem penned by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar that he recited in Sikar on Friday. It refers to his "pain and hurt” at being “dragged” into a “political” row by Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot over his recent visits to poll-bound Rajasthan. Over the last 10 days, Gehlot has attacked Dhankhar on several occasions over the latter’s “frequent” visits to the poll-bound state. In his first statement against the V-P on September 27, the CM said, “The Vice-President is doing up-down (between Delhi and Rajasthan). Whether it is the Governor or the Vice President, we respect them… but elections are here. I would want that the Vice-President becomes the President and only then we will welcome him. Please spare us. Now he is visiting and touring day and night, is there any logic? What logic is this?” Gehlot also said, “Elections are going on in Rajasthan. If you keep visiting repeatedly what would people think of you? What do you want? These constitutional institutions have a dignity, irrespective of the government of the day.” A day later, he said, “Politicians should come but please do not send the Vice-President, it is a constitutional post. We respect the President and the Vice-President. Yesterday, the Vice-President came and visited five districts. Kya tuk hai, bhai (Is there any logic)? It is election season. If you come now it will send all kinds of message which is not good for democracy.” On Friday, Dhankhar said he was not doing anything wrong and shot back at Gehlot, saying: “Some people ask why I keep coming again and again… I was surprised because the one who said it hasn’t read the Constitution or the law and did not keep the dignity of his post. Had he glanced at the law, he would have found out that India’s V-P’s travels don’t happen all of a sudden, but after much thought, brainstorming and consultation.” The CM’s remarks might be surprising for Dhankhar considering the apparent bonhomie between the two, as was visible at a felicitation programme for the V-P in the Rajasthan Assembly in September 2022. While attacking Dhankhar, Gehlot too said that he has had “good relations” with the former for about 50 years. Behind Gehlot’s “anger” is the spate of visits to the state by the V-P in August-September, and the Jat vote, among other things. In 2023 so far, the V-P has visited at least 13 districts in Rajasthan – some of them multiple times - which made up over a third of the state's 33 districts (before the creation of new districts, taking the number now to 53), and account for over half the Assembly seats, at 106 out of the total 200. In these 13 districts, the BJP currently has just 31 of 106 seats. In Bharatpur and Sikar, it has zero seats. In Jhunjhunu, Tonk and Barmer it has just one each, and two each in Jodhpur, Nagaur and Bikaner. The V-P has attended programmes at Sainik schools and various educational and other institutions across the state. He has also interacted with scientists and personnel at various agricultural institutes besides other official engagements, one of which was in Merta City, Nagaur, in May, where he unveiled the statue of former legislator Nathuram Mirdha, who was a freedom fighter and a popular leader among farmers and Jats. About four months later, Nathuram’s granddaughter Jyoti Mirdha, former MP from Nagaur, joined the BJP. In his attack on Dhankhar, Gehlot also charged that the V-P was meeting “local BJP leaders” during his visits. On the day the V-P made the comments against Gehlot in Sikar, he also met the influential Peethadhishwar Om Das Maharaj of Sangliya Peeth in the district. Accompanying the V-P was Kailash Meghwal, president of the state BJP’s SC Morcha. Ahead of the upcoming elections, Sangliya Peeth has become a key destination for politicians, especially since September. It has seen visits by state BJP chief C P Joshi, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rajendra Rathore. On September 29, Gehlot too had visited Sangliya Peeth and met Om Das Maharaj with state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and some party MLAs. Barring Dhankhar, all these visitors were active politicians. A Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, said that apart from this, the V-P praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ISRO’s Chandrayaan -3 success and showing the previous UPA government in poor light in his public programmes “does not indicate the neutrality expected from a constitutional authority.” In some of his addresses, the V-P has said that power corridors have been “sanitised of corruption” now and that India was part of "Fragile Five" 10 years ago and is now among the top five economies. He also said, “There were power brokers in the power corridors, dalalon ka raj tha (there was the rule of middlemen) and corruption was at the peak. Now power corridors have been sanitised of power brokers. You don't have to suffer the brunt of corruption now. There was a system where extra-legal leveraging in decision-making was the order of the day. Now this is not the case.” Then there is the Jat vote. One of the most influential communities in the state, their number is estimated at 10-11% of the state’s population. Jats are a dominant force in Shekhawati region, which comprises Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu, the last being the V-P’s birth place. In this region, the BJP has just 3 out of 21 seats (0/8 in Sikar, 1/7 in Jhunjhunu and 2/6 in Churu). Their other areas of influence include Jodhpur, Nagaur, etc. Political analyst Ashfaq Kayamkhani says that Jats are in a majority in about 10 districts, mainly of the Shekhawati and Marwar regions — the latter includes Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Barmer – in addition to various pockets across the state, such as in Alwar, Chittorgarh, etc. Doubling down in defence of his visits to the state, Dhankhar again raised the issue in Jodhpur on Saturday and shared multiple statements from his official X handle. One such said, “I tolerated the statement because I am a farmer's son … Your son of a farmer works as per the Constitution and follows the rules.” As neither side seems to be backing down, the last is yet to be heard in this continuing face-off.
