BJP Congress and AAP remain divided in Rajasthan

As Rajasthan gears up for an unprecedented three-cornered election contest next year with the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party in the fray, all the three state units are hoping their opponents make a slip.

While Congress state unit chief Sachin Pilot and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot slug it out for supremacy in the party, AAP state in-charge Kumar Vishwas’s camp alleges non cooperation from the central leadership.

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, meanwhile, faces stiff opposition from party colleague Ghanshyam Tiwary, whereas arch rival and senior leader Om Mathur has emerged stronger post the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Mathur stands as a strong contender to be the next BJP CM face as the party battles strong anti-incumbency in the state.

‘People have given the BJP and Congress a shot and both have disappointed them. That is where we come in. We are launching campaigns one after the other on issues that affect people.

‘Our organisation building process nears completion and by November, we will have an established setup across the state,’ Kumar Vishwas told Mail Today.

Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee President Sachin Pilot

But the bigger challenge for Congress and AAP is not just to win back the confidence of the electorate but to battle internal differences as well.

State AAP leaders allege ‘non-cooperation’ from the party high command, attributing it to personal differences between Vishwas and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

Vishwas, however, maintains: ‘The Rajasthan unit is doing well. Our first taste of success was with the Rajasthan University Students’ Union polls. In no other state did our students’ wing CYSS record such an emphatic victory.

The non-grassroot leaders of the party might not like it, but it must be understood that if volunteers are backing me, it is a good thing for the party as a whole.’

In Congress too, while Pilot has the backing of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and is most likely to be the CM face, Gehlot’s camp has been lobbying for a third term for him.

‘A section of the party in the state feels that Gehlot had done good work in his previous term and has a connect with the electorate. Considering that he is active in politics and physically fit to take up another term, he should be given another chance,’ said a senior leader from the state.

Dismissing rumours of a rift, Pilot says, ‘We are a team and will go into the polls as one united house. I have the backing of all senior leaders in the state. It is for the party leadership to decide who will be the CM candidate.’

(left) Arvind Kejriwal and Kumar Vishwas leaving Pataiala House Court. (right) Ashok Gehlot