By-elections are to be held on six assembly seats in Rajasthan. The dates for the by-elections have not been announced yet and the political atmosphere of the state has become heated. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal is doing marathon tours to gauge the mood of Rajasthan before the by-elections, which are considered a litmus test for him, while Sachin Pilot has also taken charge from the Congress side. These days this fight between BJP and Congress has become Pilot versus Agarwal.
BJP’s state in-charge Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal, who was on a visit to Rajasthan, called Sachin Pilot a spent force and said that his era is over now. Today there is a BJP government in Rajasthan. Only BJP is in the hearts of the people of the state. After Radha Mohan’s statement, Youth Congress workers took to the streets and protested from Jaipur to Udaipur. In Jaipur, Radha Mohan’s picture was painted on the poster outside the BJP state office, and ink was thrown on the BJP in-charge’s car in Udaipur by gheraoing it.
Expressing displeasure over the Udaipur incident, the Rajasthan BJP in-charge said that if such an incident happens again, the patience of BJP workers may also break. He also said that if I get even a scratch in Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot will be responsible. Without taking the name of the BJP in-charge, Sachin Pilot reminded of the decorum of language and called Rajasthan the land of Atithi Devo Bhava and said that we have also opposed big leaders ideologically but have always taken care of the level, decorum and dignity of language. Pilot also said that the by-election will reveal who is in what position.
Why Pilot vs Agarwal in Rajasthan?
Before Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, a similar statement was made by CP Joshi, who was the state president of Rajasthan BJP. As the president of Rajasthan BJP, CP Joshi had said about a month ago that Sachin Pilot is not a big challenge for BJP. BJP will win all the seats in the state in the by-election. CP Joshi had given this statement in Tonk itself, from where Sachin Pilot is an MLA. Now there is an uproar over Radha Mohan Das Agarwal’s statement. In such a situation, questions are being raised that why has this fight of by-election become more Agarwal vs Pilot than BJP vs Congress? This can be understood in four points.
1- Seats under Pilot’s influence in by-elections
By-elections are to be held on six assembly seats of Rajasthan- Uniara, Dausa, Khinvsar, Chaurasi, Jhunjhunu and Salumbhar. Five of these six seats were with the opposition parties. Hanuman Beniwal of RLP was MLA from Khinvsar and Rajkumar Roat of Bharat Adivasi Party was MLA from Chaurasi assembly seat who has now become MP. Uniara, Devsar and Jhunjhunu seats were won by Congress and all these three seats are in the area of influence of Sachin Pilot. Salumbhar seat which fell vacant due to the death of Amritlal Meena was in the possession of BJP. All the three seats held by Congress are under the influence of Pilot. BJP won the Rajasthan elections and formed a majority government in the state but the party was unsuccessful in breaking Pilot’s fort.
Also read: ‘Congress alliance will win all 10 seats in UP by-elections’, said Sachin Pilot in Lucknow, targeted BJP
2- By-election on Pilot supporters’ seat
In the Rajasthan elections, Harishchandra Meena from Uniara assembly seat, Murarilal Meena from Dausa and Brijendra Ola from Jhunjhunu won the elections and reached the assembly. These three leaders, who have now become MPs, are counted among Pilot supporters. In the by-elections for the seats vacated by the resignation of Pilot supporters, Sachin Pilot’s reputation is at stake more than that of the Congress. Pilot is facing the challenge of saving his fort. Rajasthan BJP in-charge is targeting Sachin Pilot and this is also being cited as a major reason behind it.
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3- Pilot is the future face of Rajasthan Congress
Sachin Pilot has been the state president of Rajasthan Congress and a strong contender for the post of Chief Minister from Congress after winning the 2018 assembly elections. Pilot’s stature has increased further in the party after BJP’s clean sweep streak was broken in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Congress candidates won eight out of 25 seats in Rajasthan. Congress-supported candidates won three seats. The recent statements of BJP leaders regarding Pilot, the future face of Congress, indicate that the party has already started implementing the strategy to corner him.
4- By-elections are a litmus test for Agrawal
Just last month, BJP had entrusted Radha Mohan Das Agrawal with the responsibility of Rajasthan state in-charge. These by-elections are also being seen as a litmus test for BJP and Agrawal, who lost 11 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Especially when reports of factionalism are common in Rajasthan BJP. Vasundhara Raje and her faction are said to be angry after not being made the CM, and just four days ago, on August 24, Rajendra Rathod’s supporters had made the hashtag ‘Rathod nahi to BJP nahi’ trend on the social media platform X.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)