Rajasthan political drama and future of Congress

The ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan is the latest instance for the Grand old party, the Congress, turning into its own worst enemy.

The action against a bright young Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who many believed was prime ministerial material, after another promising leader Jyotiraditya Scindia parted ways with the party, is definitely a huge setback for the future leadership of the party. The two were undoubtedly the brightest future stars of the party with caliber many times better than that of the former party president Rahul Gandhi who is being groomed for the last 15 years to effectively lead the party.

With the virtual exit of Sachin Pilot and Scindia joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, there is no other credible challenger left to Rahul Gandhi. Whether the Gandhi family and the old guard backing them wanted and wished this situation to emerge, is a matter of speculation and future historians would be able to throw some light on the inner party struggles.

It is, however, evident that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, together with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, had left the situation adrift even though it was public knowledge that Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot were pulling along well.

Pilot had staked his claim to the chief ministership after the assembly elections on the ground that he had played a stellar role in the Congress victory in Rajasthan. There is no doubt that he is a popular leader in the state and there is still a lot of goodwill for his father, late Rajesh Pilot, in the country.

Gehlot, on the other hand, is a seasoned party leader who is known for his political astuteness. He ensured that he got the support of the majority of party MLAs. Some of the younger MLAs also lent support to Gehlot to see that Pilot does not get into a dominant position and jeopardises their own future chances.

While the differences between Gehlot and Pilot was common knowledge, the more experienced Gehlot was finally able to trap Pilot in a situation which forced the latter to exit. Filing of an FIR naming Pilot as part of a plot to overthrow his government was a well thought plan and it worked.

The alternatives before Pilot now are two – either he joins the BJP like Scindia did or forms his own regional party which offers outside support to a BJP government.

Sachin has done well not to follow Scindia into the BJP which would have virtually finished his political career. He might still try the other option of forming a regional party. For that he needs to split the Congress which is an uphilltask with the provisions of disqualification of his supporting MLAs.

However with the BJP at the centre keen to regain Rajasthan, the party is likely to come to the rescue of Pilot in some way or the other.

The political future in Rajasthan is still uncertain but for the hundred and thirty five year old party, it may prove to be another nail in its coffin. The old guard appears to have defeated the new guards for now but it has been done at a huge cost to the party.

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