Being Ashok Gehlot: Rajasthani politician’s Gujarat googly attempts to revive Rahul’s career

The credit for revival of Rahul Gandhi's career goes to veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot.

New Delhi, Dec 18: Gujarat is the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and vice versa, going by the immense popularity enjoyed by the former CM of the western state.

To go to Gujarat and challenge the might of the PM and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is controlling the reins of the state for the last 22 years, is not an easy task.

The Congress, which till a few months ago was on the verge of a collapse, decided to dare the BJP in its stronghold. In doing so, the grand old party attempted to revive the career of Rahul Gandhi which had hit rock bottom after the Congress' humiliating debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly elections earlier this year.

In mid-2017, the country was truly looking Congress-mukt Bharat (India free from the Congress), a term coined by the BJP after its historic win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to free India from the clutches of the grand old party.

Since then the BJP has been winning one election after another by taking control over 18 states. Under such circumstances, it was a do or die situation for both the Congress and its then vice-president Rahul.

In such critical times, the Congress took the decision to let Rahul jump into the waters of Gujarat, totally controlled by the saffron party. If he manages to swim in the 'choppy waters' of Gujarat, Rahul survives politically and so thus the Congress, in a way.

Anyone with a bit of knowledge in politics would question the Congress for choosing Gujarat to script the reincarnation of its new president as the entire plan seems implausible and laughable.

However, the Congress had a different game plan altogether. One thing was clear--in Gujarat, the Congress has nothing to lose. Second, the grand old party wanted to see if the popularity of Modi could be challenged or not in his home state itself.

So the party put up Rahul as the Congress' face to challenge Modi in Gujarat. It was a futurist move by the Congress keeping an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Since September, Rahul had made Gujarat his second home till the second and final phase of voting in the state got over on December 14. The first phase of polling in Gujarat took place on December 9.

All these planning and thinking were masterfully done by none other than the backroom boys and veteran leaders of the party, prominent among them are former CM of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot. The two-time Rajasthan CM Gehlot is the Congress' Gujarat in-charge too.

The Congress' poll campaign was to target the BJP over the failure of demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST). The grand old party also tried to cash in on the angst of Patidars, OBCs, Dalits and small-time traders protesting against the saffron party in the state.

By highlighting the failure of the ruling BJP in Gujarat, the Congress simultaneously targeted the Modi government at the Centre. The Congress' alliance with the opponents of the BJP created quite a pandemonium in the saffron party camp which was reflected in the way the PM junked the vikas (development) bandwagon and tried to fuel communal and caste passion among the voters during his election rallies in the state.

Going by the trends, the Congress is going to get more than 70-plus seats in the state, winning 10-15 more seats than the previous Assembly elections in the state when the party won 61 seats.

The BJP, on its part, which was dreaming to get 150-plus seats in the 182-member Gujarat Legislative Assembly has to settle for 105 seats as against 115 seats won in 2012, as per the trends.

While the counting was on, Gehlot on Monday said his party was the winner in the Assembly elections even if it didn't succeed in ousting the BJP in the state.

"The BJP fought elections on emotional issues. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi told voters that he is the son of Gujarat. His prestige is at stake," Gehlot said.

"But the Congress did a real election campaign and talked about the issues related to farmers, Dalits, tribals, and traders. We formalised our manifesto for the people of Gujarat after talking to them," he told reporters.

Asked if the Congress win or loss in Gujarat would be credited to new party President Rahul Gandhi, Gehlot said it was a hypothetical question.

"Let's not talk hypothetically. Whatever the election results, the Congress and Rahul Gandhi are the real winners."

The most important takeaway for the Congress from the Gujarat elections is that the BJP and Modi are not invincible. The second fact is that Rahul managed to prove his mettle as a matured and serious politician in Gujarat.

Just after the end of campaigning in Gujarat, Rahul was crowned as the party president, in spite of the criticism that the top post was bagged by him because of his surname, Gandhi.

If the Congress' new president continues to reach out to people with the same energy and zeal--that he had shown in Gujarat--across the country, the 2019 Lok Sabha elections might not be an easy affair for the BJP which got 282 seats in the last parliamentary elections.

And for all these changes to happen in the Congress camp, Gehlot definitely needs a pat on his back.

OneIndia News