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In fact, not long ago, the Congress party launched a nationwide door-to-door election campaign to raise funds. Rajasthan state unit president Sachin Pilot had tweeted: “I appeal to the people of Rajasthan to support the crowd funding initiative of @INCIndia for upcoming Rajasthan Elections to usher in an era of clean and transparent funding.”
But - creditably for Mr Pilot - talk to few Congress leaders at Pradesh Congress office and you realise that Junior Pilot - son of illustrious father Rajesh Pilot - is managing things displaying efficacy and without harbouring ill feelings towards anyone."This fund raising and fund management comes with my job as Pradesh Congress chief. Nothing very great about it," he reportedly told some of his trusted aides in the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Chief. One close confidant endorsed the statement readily and said: "Thanks to Sachin Pilot ji, he is managing all the funds. There are no complaints so far...But today's poll management is directly linked to money management".
There are others in Congress who say without Sachin's skills in getting funds....it would have been quite difficult as in state politics there are two primary sources of funds - one the chief minister office and the other party high command. In both, the Congress sources had dried up. The moral of the story being without Sachin's skilful running the show - organising mega rallies - things could have been much difficult.
RPCC general secretary Giriraj Garg is in charge of administration but he categorically declined to talk about funding matters. " I am not authorised to speak on these. So I will not speak a single word, " Mr Garg said, adding that: "It is sheer hard work of Sachin pilot that today, Congress is revived. It is a virtual 'punar janam'- rebirth for Congress when we were reduced to 21 seats in 2013 and our vote nosedived like never before. The difference in vote share with BJP was 15 per cent".
"Now, we are fighting fit and set to capture power in Rajasthan," he said. Meanwhile, sources said despite the fund shortage there is much to be desired for voluntary contributions from Congress leaders, MLAs and others. The 'party fund' of the Rajasthan unit of Congress would be richer by Rs 40 lakh if the monthly salary (basic) from the party MPs, MLAs, former lawmakers and other elected representatives come in.
"Many of our leaders are yet to clear their contribution. We tried to raise it with Sachin Pilot so that he can write to all concerned to make their contribution at the earliest, but Sachinji said let the sleeping dog sleep...whatever that means". In 1998 at the AICC Session presided over by the then Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the committee under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had suggested at the Panchmari session and a resolution was passed that the elected members of the party in Parliament, legislative assemblies, legislative councils, chairmen of municipal corporations, Zila Pramukh, Panchayat Samiti Pradhan and nominated chairmen of corporation boards would voluntarily donate one month's basic salary/allowances to the party fund every year.
The resolution was aimed at raising party's fund. "If all contributions come, we will have a ready fund of Rs 40 lakh. Hope it comes," a party insider said. Rajasthan Congress leaders are aware of funding problems at the national level for the party as Nagaland unit of Congress in February polls earlier this year did not field candidates in all 60 assembly segments citing fund problems and the blame went to party's senior leader C P Joshi, a key man in Rajasthan politics.
"I am an admirer of CP Joshi. The fund problem is genuine," one party leader said. Meanwhile on October 2, the party on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti launched a door-to-door election campaign as a part of which the party workers will visit each house in the state to raise funds and tap first-time voters. The campaign is likely to continue till November 19, birth anniversary of Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Keeping Ashok Gehlot away from Jats a master stroke social engineering, say analysts
After a series of electoral setback this is now a season of appreciation for political wisdom of the Congress leadership.
This is precisely the point – political analysts and long time observers of Rajasthan Congress suggest when it comes to party president Rahul Gandhi’s “well calculated game” to keep Ashok Gehlot away from the voters in the poll-bound state.
“This is Rahul Gandhi’s time of efficient electoral management and social engineering. It can be a master stroke that while Sachin Pilot, a Gujjar, has been made the face of the party as the Pradesh Congress president and at the same time former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been kept away from voters.
Gehlot had antagonised Jats – a politically hyper sensitive community which can influence at least 55 seats,” a key Congress strategist told UNI here.
Agreeing with him. a party insider says making Mr Pilot the new Pradesh Congress president was actually out of a political compulsion for Mr Gandhi "and not just love for Sachin" as there were clear suggestions and advise from ground zero – at least from 11 Jat dominated districts -- that Mr Gehlot should be kept away from the electorate.
These districts are Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Bikaner, Choru, Ganganagar, Nagor, Jodhpur, Pali, Barmer, Bharatpur and Jaisalmer.
Sources say during his tenure as Chief Minister Mr Gehlot - between 2008 and 2013 - had actually provoked Jats when he could not come to the rescue of a Jat leader in an incident involving a Jat woman. “The incident was said to have been stage managed or used to defame the Jat community and a young Jat leader. The Chief Minister Gehlot could have done his part. He looked the other way,” a source said.
In 1998 also, Congress leader and Jat strongman Paras Ram Maderna-a strong contender for the top job (Chief Minister) lost the race to Ashok Gehlot.
It was on this backdrop in 2013 too – the Jats overwhelmingly had deserted the Congress and shifted their alliance enmasse to the BJP. Jats have at least 35 legislators and altogether leave influence in 20 others, sources said.
“The BJP’s success in winning record 163 seats in 2013 and reducing Congress strength to all time low
21 in 200-member House has lot to do with the Jat anguish and Mr Gehlot is held responsible for the same,” the source said adding “Thank God, the Congress high command took the right message and has thus kept Mr Gehlot away from Rajasthan politics”.
In effect, Jats have harboured complaints that though they were the single largest population among the farming community, any leader from that community was never considered for the top slot.
However, there is no denying that Mr Gehlot is a stalwart among Congressmen in today’s politics and there are large number of pro-Congress voters who would prefer Mr Gehlot and not Mr Sachin Pilot.
Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot, son of Late dynamic leader Rajesh Pilot, is a Gujjar and especially in eastern Rajasthan, a large number of voters would have their own grudge against the Gujjar community.
However, there is a section even among Jats who say Sachin Pilot has over the years “well kept himself away from caste politics” and even a senior Jat leader from Bharatpur Vishvendra Singh told UNI: “Sachin is not a casteist”.
Moreover, there is a political and demographic peculiarity vis-a-vis population of Jats and Gujjars in Rajasthan. There are many constituencies – especially the Jat dominated ones where Gujjars do not matter much. “So, essentially the Gujjar-Jat confrontation cannot harm Congress electoral prospects per se,” said a key party leader.
Another analyst who understands Jat politics of Rajasthan pretty well tried to sum up the socio-political paradox very well.
“There are three kinds of Jats....in the political sense in Rajasthan. The one in eastern Rajasthan have different equations with groups like Gujjars while Jats in Jodhpur region and Mewar see things from different perspective. A good calculation has been done by Congress election managers this time and the decision to keep Mr Gehlot away from Jat voters should fetch in rich dividends,” the analyst said.
In April 2018, interestingly, former chief minister Gehlot has maintained that he can never be out of state politics.
“People of Rajasthan have high expectations from me, they have given me so much love ....I will have to work for them," he has said.
Projecting one particular face as the Chief Minister could be risky and thus Mr Sachin Pilot said that the party will be fighting elections under the leadership of none other than Rahul Gandhi - making it clear that the CLP leader will be elected only after the final results are out.
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