Thanks to Congress’ misfortunes, Ashok Gehlot is a paranoid man. He fears a coup by BJP any moment

It was only in March that Jyotiraditya Scindia in what can be termed as a ‘mic-drop’ moment left the Madhya Pradesh Congress flanks and came to the BJP fore and in the proceedings took down the entire Kamalnath government. Although the incident happened 786 kilometers far from Rajasthan, the Chief Minister of the state, Ashok Gehlot has been ever so paranoid since then. In the last couple of days, his paranoia has reached new levels.

Ashok Gehlot fears a coup is being planned by BJP and is accusing the party of indulging in horse-trading even though odds are highly stacked against the saffron party.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot alleged that Rajya Sabha polls were deliberately delayed by two months as “they (BJP) had not completed the buying and selling” in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Congress yesterday moved its Rajasthan MLAs to a resort, apparently to check their contact with the BJP lest they intend to switch camps.

The late-night drama of shifting MLAs to the Shiv Vilas resort shows how insecure Gehlot is of his own party members’ allegiances.

“Election (Rajya Sabha) is here. It could have been conducted two months back but they had not completed the buying and selling in Gujarat and Rajasthan, so they delayed it. The election is going to be conducted now and the situation is the same,” Ashok Gehlot was quoted saying to ANI.

It’s funny and sad simultaneously to see a senior political leader lose his sanity and get suspicious for no reason. The elections to 18 Rajya Sabha seats were deferred by the Election Commission (EC) owing to the lockdown in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic. However, EC on Monday announced that the elections will be held on June 19 and therefore Ashok Gehlot and his frenzy have been in overdrive.

A fear of coup or factions within the party?

Moreover, these developments show a deeper issue of an internal leadership crisis in the Congress. The party members are unsure about their future and the lack of a proper power-figure at the top of party-chain adds to their woes. News reports have been coming out routinely that there have been factions inside the Congress party which have been growing as we reach the election date.

By most estimates, cramping the party MLAs in the resort is being done to put a band-aid on the growing rifts. And Ashok Gehlot being bereft of any crafty ideas came up with the accusations to blame the BJP.

Meanwhile, BJP state president Satish Poonia told IANS, “This is just propaganda made by Congress workers. I openly challenge them to come out with proof confirming their allegation.”

Congress indulged in poaching last year

It is the same Congress party that had poached six Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs last year which drew the ire of BSP supremo Mayawati, who called Congress ‘unreliable’ and ‘untrustworthy’. Talk about giving sermons on the same crimes you have been committing for the last 70 years.

The 200 seat Rajasthan assembly is being led by Congress with 100 seats with the support of 12 independent MLAs and the six poached BSP MLAs. The BJP has only 78 MLAs which includes its allies. To win a Rajya Sabha seat in the state, each candidate needs 51 first preference votes.

The mathematics is against BJP and even if BJP goes on and poaches the independent MLAs, a hung assembly will not be beneficial for any of the parties. Unless Sachin Pilot which has been time and again undermined by Ashok Gehlot goes out in the same trajectory of Jyotiraditya Scindia.

It’s a story of lots of ifs and buts and hearsay, therefore Ashok Gehlot instead of getting paranoid should get his house in order and keep his MLAs happy who are clearly suffering from an identity crisis.

Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are prime examples of Congress’s inability to keep its party workers happy rather than BJP’s ability to absorb the Congress leaders. The grand old party has been handed drubbing in two general elections on the trot and yet nobody inside the party is willing to address the issues plaguing the party (Read: Gandhi clan).

These allegations do not have any wings and the best they prove is Ashok Gehlot’s growing insecurity.