Congress gets last-minute jitters before Rajasthan polls

With poor ticket distribution, organisational weaknesses and constant complaints of “resource crunch”, the Congress has managed to turn the assembly elections in Rajasthan from a cakewalk to what increasingly seems like a sticky wicket.

In at least 120 of the 200 seats where polling is scheduled on Friday, the grand old party is straining to match its last mile connectivity with a better organised, abundantly funded and organisationally formidable BJP.

The BJP, on the other hand, has done everything possible – from door-to-door campaigns using the Sangh Parivar machinery; coordinated with high-voltage road-shows and rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath – to combat the anti-incumbency backlash and popular resentment against Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Ticket woes

The biggest factor worrying Congress insiders in Rajasthan is the way caste equations were unsettled. In its outreach bid towards Rajputs and Brahmins, the Congress fears it may have angered the Jats and its more traditional voters among the Scheduled Castes.

The Jats, essentially a farming community which has openly revolted against the incumbent BJP because of the agricultural distress, have been irked by the way the Congress distributed tickets to upper castes.

Veteran leader and former Gujarat Governor, Kamala Beniwal has been campaigning for her son Alok Beniwal, who has rebelled against the Congress and is contesting as independent in Shahpura constituency. Alok Beniwal, whose candidature could have influenced Jat voters in the neighbouring constituencies as well, was denied the Congress ticket from Shahpura.

Similarly, Suchitra Arya, who belongs to the family of veteran farmers’ leader and former minister, the late Kumbharam Arya, was also denied a ticket.

Though the Congress has given about 25 tickets to candidates from Jat community, denial of ticket to family members of these veteran leaders have resulted in non-cooperation from influential clans and their support base in a number of constituencies.

“The party did not give tickets to members from influential Jat families and chose preferred people of local leaders instead. Members of these families have pockets of influence and they are either silent or are working against the party. BJP is using this at the ground,” a Congress insider said.

The voting patterns of the Dalits and the Jats show that these communities have followed the same political trajectory in the desert state.

In areas where the Jats are dominant, Dalits have been voting along with them.

“Now, since the Jats are silent, Dalits are going along with Rajputs or Brahmins. This is not a good sign for the party,” another leader said.

However, the discontent over ticket distribution is not limited to just the Congress.

RSS influence

The BJP too is facing about 30 rebel candidates. The Congress believes that the challenge it faces from rebels will be compensated by the backlash the ruling party may also face.

Another factor that worries the Congress is the “Sanskritisation” or “Saffronisation” of Dalits and tribals. “The RSS has been very active among the Dalits and tribals. They are trying to polarise them on communal lines and this process has gained a lost of momentum in the last five years of Vasundhara regime. We were complacent to this process,” a Congress leader in Delhi, who is involved in the Rajasthan campaign, said.

The AICC leadership and the State unit of the Congress, however, believe that such issues will be addressed by a huge anti-incumbency wave.

“No one likes Vasundhara Raje. It is true that we have a number of issues on the ground, including a poor distribution of tickets. But everything will be covered as people are angry against Raje government and the BJP,” a senior Congress leader said.

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