Rajasthan Assembly Elections: Pilot may not tank in Tonk, but it’ll be a close shave

There is a certain resentment against Sachin Pilot among locals in Tonk, who allege that the MLA remained busy with internal politics and didn’t pay attention to their concerns.

At Tonk, 100 kilometres from Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur, people voice their unhappiness with the Congress high command for not naming Sachin Pilot as the potential chief minister.

“Last time, Pilot had received massive support from all communities, as everyone believed he would be made chief minister. But it doesn’t seem to be happening this time either, even if the party forms the government as Ashok Gehlot keeps saying he will retain the post,” said Ankur Jain, 40, who runs a stationery shop outside the Congress office in Tonk.

Jain believes that the five years of the Congress government were consumed by a power struggle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot, and the party’s top leadership failed to clearly demarcate their remit.

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The constituency is set to witness a face-off between the Gujjar leader and his BJP rival, Ajit Singh Mehta, who won the seat in 2013 by a margin of 30,343 votes (21.32 percent).

In 2018, Singh lost the mandate, and the party nominated Yunus Khan, a loyalist of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. However, Khan was defeated by Pilot who was the then Congress state president, by a margin of 54,179 votes (31.58 percent).

In the last polls, for the first time since the constituency’s establishment in 1972, the Congress nominated Pilot, a non-Muslim candidate. Despite this departure from tradition, the community,  which comprises about 30 percent of the constituency’s 2.22 lakh voters, overwhelmingly supported Pilot.

The demographics of the area indicate that after Muslims, the other communities with a significant voter base are Scheduled Castes (45,000), followed by Gujjars (35,000), Malis (17,000), Brahmins (15,000), Maheshwaris (13,000), and 12,500 Jats.

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There is a certain resentment against Pilot among local Muslims, who allege that the MLA remained busy with internal politics and didn’t pay attention to them, and sidelined their local leaders as well.

“Our community mostly votes for the Congress, and without looking at the candidate’s religion. Even when the BJP nominated Yunus Khan, we didn’t support him. We used to think Congress leaders were accessible, but Pilot changed our perception,” said Inayat Khan, a resident of Tonk town.

He remarked that Pilot has a chance of winning again, but the victory margin will reduce as most communities have the same complaint against Pilot. Khan’s statement found support from Anil Kasliwal, a chartered accountant, who said, “Meeting God is easier than meeting Sachin.”

“The initial blow came from the high command, dashing our hopes by denying him the chief ministerial post, and his absence from the constituency added to it. Neither he nor his workers contributed to Tonk’s development,” added Kasliwal.

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The opposition BJP ran a campaign against Pilot, emphasising his absence from the constituency during the five-year tenure of the Congress government, alleging that the former deputy chief minister didn’t visit even five times.

“Even though he is a national leader, Pilot had to go door-to-door. He knew he was distant from the very people who had trusted him with their votes. I won this seat in 2013, despite Congress dominance, solely because I value accessibility,” said Mehta.

In the rural belt of Tonk constituency, most voters praise Pilot, citing his tireless work during the first and second waves of Covid, the upgrade of schools, and improvements to the road network.

Ganga Vishan, a resident of Bamore Panchayat, points to a school that was upgraded to the higher secondary level in 2022, and said it was the most important development for them.

“Our children had to go to other villages to study after passing the 10th grade. Now, all villages have higher secondary schools, reducing the dropout percentage, especially among girl students. We see it as a major achievement,” said Vishan.

In Barni village along the highway, Pawan Sahu asserts that Pilot ensured people didn’t suffer due to the lack of basic facilities during Covid. He said that even small health centres had access to oxygen cylinders, and added that the roads had been improved as well.