Congress High Command Asserts Itself in Rajasthan
Asia News Agency
The Congress High Command has asserted itself by managing the expansion/ reshuffle of the council of ministers in Rajasthan. There are two power centres in the Congress government - Chief minister Ghelot and Sachin Pilot. The latter has been at odds with his chief minister for a long time now and has threatened leaving the party in the past. Five of his supporters have now found a place in the in the council of ministers. In addition, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have also been given representation. There is thus, a message for both Gehlot and Pilot.
The High Command has also tried to create a new leadership, writes The Indian Express. “Although the Rajasthan Congress story will still revolve around Gehlot and Pilot, the leadership, by giving important organisational roles to Raghu Sharma, a Brahmin, Harish Chaudhary and Govind Singh Dotasra, both from the Jat community, and Bhanwar Jitender Singh, a Rajput, has thrown more leaders from varied backgrounds into the mix…..”
The Punjab analogy: The Punjab politics of infighting also played a role. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was forced to resign after the High Command refused to reign in his rival Navjot Singh Sidhu. “Gehlot is not Amarinder and Sachin is not (Navjot Singh) Sidhu. There is a difference. Gehlot is not temperamental like Captain. And knows the virtues of patience and silence,” a party leader said.
Party leaders point out that not even a single MLA who was close to Amarinder has quit the party so far. “Not even some of the MPs who were very local in supporting Captain… that has also emboldened the high command,” a leader said.
Changes in Kerala, Bihar, Maharashtra: But be it in Punjab, Rajasthan or Kerala, the High Command is slowly starting to assert itself again. In Kerala, it did not waste time handing over the reins of the party after the shock defeat in the Assembly elections to a new leadership.
In Bihar, the induction of Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mewani have been forced on the state leadership. Even in Andhra Pradesh, veteran leaders have been replace by younger ones.
In Maharashtra, the party appointed former BJP MP Nana Patole as president of the unit. Patole, who started his political career with the Congress three decades ago, returned to the party only in 2018.
