Rahul Gandhi, who had drawn a line in the sand around the desert state, has finally decided to hit the campaign trail as the high-octane battle for the Rajasthan Assembly gets stormy.
The Lok Sabha MP and former Congress president, who was last seen in the state at a party workers' meeting at Jaipur on September 23, has lined up rallies and roadshows starting November 16.
Rajasthan will go to polls in a single phase on November 25 and results to the 200-seat Assembly will be declared on December 3 along with those of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
Rahul concentrated more on Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana where polls are scheduled on November 17 and November 30. Insiders whisper that the Congress smelt better prospects in those three states. Gandhi had left the ground for the Rajasthan leaders, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy and now rival Sachin Pilot, to run the campaign in their own capacities.
“While tickets for candidates were being finalised at the central election committee meet, Gandhi had raised objections over candidates favoured by Gehlot. In fact, he had remarked that there were allegations of corruption and non- performance against them,” said a party leader.
Although Gehlot has had the support of Sonia Gandhi, his rift with the Gandhi scion surfaced after September 25, 2022, when 92 Congress leaders, considered close to Gehlot, tendered their resignations to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, saying that they wouldn't accept Sachin Pilot as the chief minister. Pilot's name was doing the round after the High Command handed down the party whip to Gehlot.
The leaders wanted Gehlot to serve both as the chief minister as well as the state party president, which was against Rahul Gandhi’s strategy of one-man-one-post that was laid out as part of the Udaipur Declaration.
As the poll turf of Rajasthan nears its end, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has decided to campaign for three days from November 16. Kharge held two rallies in Baran on October 16 and in Jodhpur on November 6. Rahul Gandhi will spend four days in the state, while Priyanka Gandhi, who held two rallies in Dausa on October 20 and Jhunjhunu on October 25, has a three-day itinerary for Rajasthan from November 16.
As infighting steals the show in the Congress camp, there are whispers that both the rallies Priyanka held indicated string backing for Pilot.
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