Rajasthan election results: Here are the major players in the fray
From ex-royals, former CMs to new hopefuls.
Vasundhara Raje
For Vasundhara Raje, in many ways, history is repeating itself. Her previous term as Rajasthan CM — from 2003 to 2008 — saw her sworn in as a popular, sure-footed leader, but by the end of her tenure, infighting, charges of corruption and of her being “inapproachable” had marred her chances severely.
This time, the conditions are similar, but the stakes are higher. With stories of her ‘differences’ with Narendra Modi-Amit Shah often hitting headlines, Raje’s position in the party — to an extent her career — depends on this election.
With the Opposition Congress seemingly slowly losing its initial momentum, Raje might still sail through, making her the first Rajasthan CM in the recent decades to buck anti-incumbency.
What works for her is her own personality, her connect with women voters, her enviable identity combination — Maratha Rajput royal daughter, Jat royal daughter-in-law, Gurjar mother-in-law — and the fact that the BJP has no leader even close to her stature in Rajasthan.
As CM, she has worked on infrastructure building and social schemes, such as the health insurance scheme Bhamashah Yojana.
Her challenges include anti-incumbency, charges of being “aloof and unreachable” for most, relying on a small coterie for her information of what’s happening in the state, and the Rajput community’s anger against her, over her handling of the Padmaavat issue, the encounter of gangster Anandpal Singh, and of Rajput leader Gajendra Shekhawat losing out on the post of BJP Rajasthan unit chief, even though Amit Shah was reportedly in favour of his candidature.
Her tenure was marked with charges of corruption — including from BJP leaders — the mining scam, and the 'Lalitgate' controversy. An ordinance she brought in to protect public servants and judges from being probed for on-duty action without the government's apporoval had to be withdrawn after facing severe flak.
However, with her constant rallies across the state, Raje seems to have revived support for herself.
Her political record is formidable — she was the Jhalawar MP for five terms, and has been the Jhalrapatan MLA since 2003, winning every election with a bigger margin.
Her challenger this time is Manvendra Singh, son of former BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who was denied a ticket by the BJP from Barmer in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Manvendra, who joined Congress recently, is trying to make his unequal battle one of Rajput swabhiman (self-respect).
Raje faces a major challenge in retain the CM’s chair, but in the past too, she has faced many tough battles — and won them.
Ashok Gehlot
Ashok Gehlot will fight the polls from Sardarpura, which has elected him as MLA four consecutive times in the past. Gehlot is among the leaders who have never changed their constituency.
As a student of economics and law, Gehlot — inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s works to serve the destitute — worked in coordinating and managing the East Bengali refugee camps in Odisha in the 1970s. It was here that the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recognised Gehlot’s organisational skills, and he rose to prominence in the Congress party.
He was subsequently appointed the first state president of Congress’ student's wing — the National Student's Union of India — in Rajasthan. Since then, it has been a meteoric rise for the 67-year-old leader, who stepped into national politics in 1980 when he became a member of the Lok Sabha. He has served as Union minister in various portfolios five times, and has been the chief minister of Rajasthan twice.
In the past, Gehlot has been accused of misusing his position to benefit his family members. In April 2011, he was accused of irregularities in the allocation of sandstone mining licenses in the state and allowing his son Vaibhav Gehlot to misuse his father’s position for personal gains. His reputation suffered a further taint in November 2017, when his name was cited in the list of politicians named in Paradise Papers allegations. However, Ashok Gehlot’s name has been cleared of all charges since then.
The power in Rajasthan has been oscillating alternately between Gehlot and his arch-rival — the current chief minister Vasundhara Raje — for two decades now since Bhairon Singh Shekhawat handed the state’s BJP mantle to Raje.
Neither Gehlot nor Raje has come to power for a second consecutive term since then. If the tide in the desert state turns in Gehlot’s favour, it would be the third time that the state would choose its son (Gehlot) over its daughter-in-law (Raje) since 1998.
Sachin Pilot
Hailing from a politically astute parentage, Sachin Rajesh Pilot — the former Union minister of corporate affairs in the UPA-II regime — was a reluctant politician. Not many are aware that the son of Congress veterans — Rajesh and Rama Pilot — dreamt of being a pilot in the Indian Air Force, like his father. However, his poor eyesight upset that plan and he contended being a politician instead — again, like his father.
Poor eyesight clearly does not translate to poor vision — Sachin became a Member of Parliament at the age of 26, Union minister at 31 and the president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee at the age of 35 years. Pilot, the son-in-law of former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah, is also the first Union minister of India to be commissioned as an officer in the Territorial Army in 2012, fulfilling his dream to be in the Armed Forces, like his father.
While the 41-year-old has rubbished talks of rivalry with Ashok Gehlot, the fact remains that both Gehlot and Pilot are vying for the position of the state’s chief minister.
Congress had lost power in 2013 when Gehlot was in the saddle. Pilot has been credited with building up the party strength on the ground, and for his role in the January by-polls win for the Congress. But Gehlot is still the senior-most leader. Also, declaring Pilot, a Gujjar, as the CM face could antagonise Rajputs, whose anger against Raje the Congress is banking on.
While Congress is playing it safe before the polls by not naming the chief ministerial candidate, the speculations are that the in-fights in the grand old party will take an ugly turn if Congress does bag the required number of seats to form a government in Rajasthan.
Hanuman Beniwal
Hanuman Beniwal, the Independent MLA from Khinvsar, has always been an interesting character. Whether that will translate into votes for his party, and for Rajasthan’s ‘third front’, remains to be seen.
Beniwal, a popular Jat leader, launched his Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in October, and aims to provide an alternative to the “corrupt BJP and Congress”. His party symbol is a bottle — a water bottle, he specifies, not an alcohol bottle — which “signifies transparency” and “will quench the thirst” of the people of Rajasthan.
Beniwal was suspended from the BJP ahead of the 2013 Assembly polls after he called Raje “corrupt”. He fought as an Independent and won.
This time, he is counting on the support from an outfit formed by another disgruntled former BJP leader, Ghanshyam Tiwari, who resigned from the party earlier this year in protest against “corrupt and autocratic” Raje.
Tiwari has formed Bharat Vahini Party, and hopes to win Brahmin votes.
While Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Bharat Vahini Party, and another motley association of the RLD, the Left, the Samajwadi Party etc. won’t make much of a dent on Rajasthan’s political scene, they could cost both the BJP and the Congress a few seats by acting as ‘vote-cutters’, especially where their candidates are rebels from the major parties. In a close election, every seat can matter.