Prof K Nageshwar: What’s Behind Truce In Rajasthan Congress?

With the gharvapsi of Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot led congress government in Rajasthan gets a reprieve. Given the political volatility within the state congress, the durability of high command induced truce is still unpredictable. But, the storm has crossed the desert for now.

What led to this home coming of Sachin Pilot is quite obvious. Unlike Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot could not inflict debilitating damage on congress. The congress has relatively comfortable numbers in Rajasthan when compared to Madhya Pradesh, making pilot’s job difficult. The rumblings in opposition BJP have also come to the rescue of Ashok Gehlot.

Despite making damaging comments on his adversary, Ashok Gehlot has to agree for the truce as he realizes that his government enjoys only a wafer thin majority. Compromise with Sachin Pilot will ultimately save the Gehlot government.

Sachin Pilot also had no alternative. He could muster the support of only 18 MLAs despite weeks of political manoeuvring with the blessings of BJP central leadership. Pilot knows pretty well that he is not going to get anything in his bargain with BJP, when he fails in his mission to topple congress government. His life in BJP will be miserable, given the faction ridden character of Rajasthan unit of saffron party. Pilot has even toyed with the idea of launching his own outfit. But, such a political startup in a state polarized between congress and BJP is most unlikely to succeed at least in the immediate future. The restless young politician accustomed to limited over match cannot wait for a long innings.

The BJP failed, perhaps for the first time in destabilizing opposition ruled governments after successive victories in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Ashok Gehlot proved to be a tough nut to crack. The saffron party overestimated the capacity of Sachin Pilot to cause damage from within the congress.

The Vijaya Raje Scindia led faction was in no mood to embrace congress breakaway group led by Sachin Pilot. Thus, Modi-Shah duo has to take a step back, perhaps only to strike back at a more opportune time. Though the saffron party claims to have no link with developments in Rajasthan congress, the operation lotus was more than evident. The fact that Vijaya Raje Scindia’s loyalist openly called the attempts to topple congress government in Rajasthan as unethical, repudiate such claims of saffron brigades.

By — Prof K Nageshwar