Even if BJP is trying to do a Madhya Pradesh or a Karnataka, Rajasthan may not come as easy to it

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 13

Despite “rumours” that Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot “met” BJP top brass in Delhi, the general consensus among political observers appears to be that even if the saffron party is trying to do a Madhya Pradesh or a Karnataka in Rajasthan, the desert state may not come as easy to it.

For one the Congress Chief Minister in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, is a “seasoned and shrewd” politician.  He has been a student leader, the state party president, MLA, Lok Sabha MP, Union Minister and is the CM for the third time in the state. “Gehlot is someone who has seen it all unlike Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh whose area of influence was limited to Chhindwara,” observers say.

Besides, unlike Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot holds important positions. He is the Deputy CM and also the president of the state Congress. Also, the gap between the BJP and the Congress is bigger in Rajasthan and the state unit is “not as divided” as it was in Madhya Pradesh with at least four different camps operating in it.

The saffron party has challenged Chief Minister Gehlot to prove the allegations that it is trying to “destablise his government and is indulging in poaching” ahead of the Rajya Sabha poll, blaming all his trouble on “internal differences” in the party.

The observers say signs of “Operation Lotus” are “all there” and “if not now, it may be a matter of some more months before Rajasthan is in the news again”. But it seems the current situation may be limited to Rajya Sabha elections.

Interestingly, it is BJP’s former ally Shiv Sena which has sounded a “warning” for the Congress.

Hitting out at BJP for trying to destabilise the Rajasthan government during the pandemic, Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Saamana also questioned if the Deputy Chief Minister met the BJP bigwigs in Delhi. “There are also rumours that Sachin Pilot met BJP bigwigs in Delhi, it may be wrong, but this is like warning bell for the Congress camp,” Saamana was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Pilot yesterday asserted that MLAs of the ruling coalition were all united and would ensure a comfortable victory for the two Congress candidates in upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.