All is not well in Rajasthan Congress

By Anil SharmannFissures have become wide open in Congress in Rajasthan, with the leaders coming out in the open and criticizing one another almost on a daily basis as it seems it is free for all in the party which came to power only 10 months back.nnIt is not a hidden fact that all is not affable between the Rajasthan chief minister (CM) Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot who also is Pradesh Congress committee chief or state president of the Congress. Pilot has not left any opportunity to flay his own government on law and order situation in the state. Incidentally home ministry is handled by the chief minister Gehlot.nnPilot even did not miss to take a dig though not directly to criticize the higher ups, obviously the CM, for inducting all the six Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) MLAs in the party few days back.nnSources in the party said that he (Pilot) was unhappy with the way these MLAs were inducted and that too without his knowledge. If these sources in the Congress are to be believed then Gehlot wants to offer them positions in the government but Pilot is opposing it saying that the workers who have done real hard work in bringing Congress back to power in the state must first be rewarded suitably, a point which is well taken by the Congress party workers and there is no denying even to the fact that Pilot had really put in hard work and travelled length and breadth of the desert state, which geographically is the largest, to strengthen party in the state and bring it to a position that resulted in the formation of the Congress government in the state.nnHowever at the crux time Gehlot was made CM and he his deputy. Gehlot was offered the post as he had more experience and was thought to be the person who can handle a government with a thin majority in the assembly. But it did not go well with Pilot supporters who thought inspite of he being doing all the hard work he was denied the position he deserved.nnIn fact tussle between the two has become so much that the development works in the state are being hindered and the bureaucrats do not even know whose orders to follow.nnMoreover, Gehlot in this tenure, this is his third tenure as CM of the state, seems to be a completely changed man. He was a considered a commoner and a mass leader. However in these 10 months he has lost some ground. People think he is not the same Gehlot but a completely different person.nnGehlot who had a completely flawless political career and had always tried to keep him family members away from the political limelight. But this time he been criticized a lot by both the opposition BJP and his colleagues in the Congress to be devoting more time on his son Vaibhav?s future.nnFirst he got him a Lok Sabha ticket from Jodhpur from where Vaibhav lost against Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat with a big margin. It was here when the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had, sources in AICC say, had reportedly flayed Gehlot for spending more time in Jodhpur then elsewhere in the state and due to which according to Gandhi Congress lost on all 25 seats in Lok Sabha polls.nnNow with the help of senior Congress leader C P Joshi?s help he has been elected as president of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). But it has come at a big cost as one of Vaibhav?s opponents was Rameshwar Dudi, former leader of opposition and senior Congress and Jat community leader has openly launched a scathing attack against the CM. Dudi after his nomination papers for the post of RCA president were rejected indirectly attacked chief minister Ashok Gehlot quoting Mahabharata said, ?Dhritarashtra ne apne Putra Moh main kaisa khel racha, Mahabharata dekh lo.?nnEven Pilot jumped into this and said that whatever happened during the RCA election is unfortunate and sad. Vaibhav , son of Chief Minister Gehlot, is also a big leader and Rameshwar Dudi is also a senior Congress leader. The two leaders should have worked in coordination and cordial environment by sitting and talking.nnOne should not forget that if Dudi is not tackled in a proper way soon it might affect the Congress party?s prospects in the by elections to two assembly constituencies of Mandawa and Khimsar, both are Jat dominated seats. Both the seats go to polls on October 21. Besides this, Rajasthan is also set for panchayat and civic polls in next few months and Dudi?s anger can affect Congress party prospects in all these polls.nnTime has come for the people sitting in Delhi or Congress hi-command including acting Congress president Sonia to intervene fast and stop issues, fissures, divisions and factionalism to go out of hand otherwise Congress is heading towards a stage from where it will be difficult for the party to remain united and win any elections.nnThe writer is a Senior Journalist and Political Analyst