Revealed: How Congress plans to win back Rajasthan, beat anti-incumbency

New Delhi: Taking a leaf out of Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral notebook in Gujarat, the Congress is preparing to reduce its anti-incumbency in Rajasthan by denying tickets to about one-third of its sitting legislators.

It is understood that mainly two groups of legislators are being targeted for denial of tickets in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly polls by the grand old party. Congress MLAs over the age of 70 have been asked to bow out of contesting this time around. While loyalists of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot are also likely to be denied tickets by the party, sources stated.

Congress strategists have discussed the issue threadbare and the party is seemingly inclined towards a major overhaul in the ticket distribution process. The MLAs who will not be fielded in the forthcoming state polls, due to the age factor, are likely to be given an option of seeking a ticket for their kin, sources added. Polls for the 200 members Rajasthan Legislative Assembly are scheduled to take place later this year.

Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, in-charge of Rajasthan Congress, has started a political discussion by advising the senior leaders to leave in a dignified manner and also provide names for probable candidates from their constituencies, sources said.

Another reason for the denial of tickets to legislators over 70 years old is that Congress wants to appeal to the youth of the state and wants to be seen as the party which gives opportunities to the youth. 

“A right balance of experience and youth will be maintained. But the party has clearly indicated that old leaders need to vacate the space for the youth in electoral politics,” sources added.

Another major chunk of MLAs that are likely to be denied tickets are those owing loyalty to the former deputy CM Pilot. The move is being considered so as to ensure that there is a stop to the factionalism that has created trouble in the functioning of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The party’s strict stance on ticket distribution comes even as Pilot has decided not to relent on his rebellious ways, despite a direct intervention by the party high command.

Over the past few years, the Rajasthan Congress has been constantly facing a feud between Gehlot and Pilot. Though the 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.

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-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 which the saffron unit wants to repeat in 2024 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks an unprecedented third term in office.      

After a confidence-boosting win in Karnataka, the Congress leadership feels that it can still win the forthcoming Assembly polls in the desert state by ensuring the correct distribution of tickets. And the Congress hopes to retain one of the biggest states in its kitty ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

By implementing a stringent ticket distribution for the forthcoming assembly polls the Congress will also send a message across to any possible rebellious factions in other states, that the grand old party would not tolerate any anti-party activity and all factions need to work together to ensure victory. The Congress’ central leadership had implemented the same strict discipline in Karnataka recently, a state which had seen a running feud between two senior leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.

Rajasthan has a history of awarding Assembly wins to BJP and Congress alternately. But by implementing this new ticket distribution strategy the grand old party wants to change history and come back to power in the border state for two consecutive terms.