Are Pilot-Akhilesh-Jayant planning new OBC social engineering in Rajasthan?

New Delhi: With just months to go for Rajasthan Legislative Assembly polls, a new OBC social engineering experiment is likely to be unveiled. In a first-of-its-kind experiment, a caste combination of Gujjar, Yadav and Jat communities is taking shape and is expected to be revealed soon.

Sources stated that former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot is in talks with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary to field joint candidates for the forthcoming polls. The three leaders are understood to have met recently and discussed the wide parameters of the possible alliance, sources said.

The alliance, if formulated, is expected to be a formidable one as these caste combinations are expected to give nightmares to the leadership of both the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Sources stated that the social engineering of Gujjar, Yadav and Jat voters could end up changing the electoral landscape of the desert state as these three communities can sway political fortunes in over half of the 200 Assembly constituencies.

Sources stated that the three leaders are trying to bring together in the pre-poll alliance of these communities in a move that has never been attempted before. “Though the three OBC castes are competitors for power, it is expected that these leaders could use their influence amongst their respective community leaders to attempt a coalition,” sources added.

While Pilot holds sway in the eastern part of the state, the SP and RLD are expected to target the constituencies bordering Uttar Pradesh and Haryana where they enjoy support amongst the local population owing to caste affiliations.

Sources stated that depending on the success of the alliance in Rajasthan Assembly elections the allies can continue with this in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While Pilot is expected to be the face of the proposed alliance in Rajasthan, a wider and leading role can be played by Akhilesh in the 2024 general elections.

How Pilot is trying to secure his political future

Despite the Congress claiming that all is well between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the truce between the two may be wearing thin. The grand old party had claimed that both leaders have agreed to fight the state Assembly polls unitedly after meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi recently. However, it is understood that Pilot has expressed that he should be made the Pradesh Congress Committee chief ahead of the crucial polls.

This demand for the PCC chief’s position could end up creating more trouble for the Congress with just months to go for the elections as Gehlot is unlikely to give into Pilot’s whims. And disciplinary action by the grand old party is also expected against Pilot if he doesn't give up on his demand. The proposed OBC alliance may be Pilot's ticket to the future, sources said.

Over the past few months, the Rajasthan Congress has been constantly facing a feud between Gehlot and Pilot. Though Congress claims that the matter between its two top leaders has been resolved after the intervention of party high command, the friction in the state unit is far from being resolved.

The party has been unable to put a leash on Pilot, who had recently held an agitation against corruption, going against the order of the Congress’ top leadership.

Rajasthan is an important state for both the BJP and Congress and the two parties are in direct contest for the important state ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP hopes to boost the morale of its cadre ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by convincingly drubbing the Congress in the crucial assembly elections. After a successful campaign in Karnataka, the Congress hopes to retain the biggest state in its kitty.

The BJP- Rashtriya Loktantrik Party alliance secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in 2019. This completely reversed the Assembly polls outcome of 2018 where the BJP was only able to secure 75 seats in the 200 members Assembly. The BJP had also successfully secured all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan in the 2014 general elections, a record that the saffron unit wants to repeat in 2024.