Contrast in background has not stopped Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje to lead Rajasthan.
It is just coincidence or a roll of dice that both Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje have been youth leaders and worked as ministers in the center before becoming chief minister.
Three-time chief minister, Ashok Gehlot boasts a humble background. His rise is the outcome of hard work and toil. He started working as a congress volunteer in Bangladeshi refugee camps in 1971. His performance was noticed by the top leadership of congress. This led to his becoming the first State President of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and successfully organized Congress's Student Wing in the state. Gehlot is a staunch Gandhian and he lived in Wardha to adapt his lifestyle as a Gandhian. He eats before sunset and is a pure vegetarian and enjoys Satvik Meals. He is also a teetotaler.
On the other hand, Two-time chief minister Vasundhara Raje comes from an erstwhile royal family of Gwalior. She had the best of education. She entered politics in 1984 at the top as a member of the national executive of the newly formed Bhartiya Janata Party. She was also elected as a member of the 8th Rajasthan Assembly from Dholpur. In the same year, she was appointed vice president of the Yuva Morcha, Rajasthan BJP.
Despite having been born with a silver spoon Vasundhara has to fight and survive on her own. The death of father in early childhood, a short-lived marriage and elder brother being a senior leader in congress had placed her in challenging positions time and again yet her grit to survive has helped her thrive in tough times.
Gehlot is known for his political acumen and most often, he is referred to as magician (jadugar) by his party colleagues. In 2022, Gehlot was reported to have ensured victory of three Indian National Congress candidates in Rajya Sabha polls, which were being conducted on four seats in the state.
The rebel who defies party leadership.
On September 25 2022, 92 MLAs of the Congress in Rajasthan submitted their resignations to assembly speaker C.P. Joshi. Indication were that more could have but restrained due to their official position or due to their presence at the CM’s residence at that time. They also boycotted the meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) where a one-line resolution was to be passed to give powers to interim president Sonia Gandhi to find a chief ministerial successor to Gehlot, along with the latter’s resignation letter as CM.
If one goes by the past precedents, there was nothing unusual about the resolution. It was a routine to pass such resolution whenever there is a likelihood of change of chief minister. But this time the state party leaders defied the high command. The unexplained reason for the ‘extraordinary hurry’ with which the meeting and the proposed resolution were brought set the trigger on. This made everyone suspect that the exercise was aimed at declaring Sachin Pilot as the new Rajasthan chief minister taking advantage of Gehlot filing nomination papers for the presidential election in Delhi next day.
This was not the first time that Ashok Gehlot has beaten the conspiracy to displace him as chief minister. In July 2020, Gehlot's then deputy Sachin Pilot along with 18 MLAs had revolted against him by staging a sit-in protest outside the Raj Bhavan. Not only he managed to defuse the situation but he attacked the BJP leadership including Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan and Gajendra Shekhawat for conspiring to topple his government. (a video released on X by ANI dated May 7 2023)
At the same time, he used the opportunity to split the opposition by crediting Vasundhara Raje for not supporting the toppling of his government using money power.
The trick worked despite Vasundhra Raje denied the charges immediately.
“Fabricated stories”: Vasundhara Raje denies Ashok Gehlot’s claim she helped save govt in 2020.”
Financial express may 8, 2023.
Why Ashok Gehlot chose Vasundhara’s name?
Vasundhara Raje has been fighting the patriarch system to create a niche for herself and doing so she has challenged party leadership time and again. Another outcome of this strategy is that she is not ready to allow any junior becoming a threat. This is happening since 2012.
“Her tactic then was typical of a powerful state satrap refusing to be bullied by the national leadership. She flaunted the support of 62 out of 78 BJP MLAs in the state assembly and dared the party to throw her out. Those were tough times for the BJP’s leadership. Things have not changed much with the change in leadership. She has dared the party leadership again by refusing to respond to the summons by party chief Gadkari to come to Delhi and by making 60 MLAs loyal to her resign.”
First Post Akshaya Mishra May 07, 2012.
This trend continued till date and when Vasundhara shared the stage with PM it becomes news,
“Vasundhara Raje Share Stage at Election Rally
This was the first rally in which PM Modi and former CM Vasundhara Raje were present together since the elections were announce”
India News, Press Trust of India Updated: November 22, 2023.
Why Indian politics is marred with personality cult and dynasty rule.
Indian ethos always promoted ‘Vanaprastha’ which means handing over the reign to young generation at the age of fifty years and living a life which was spent in sharing knowledge with younger generation. Due to this trait alone the coup for power was a rare occurrence. The young respected older generation and were seeking guidance from them. Vashishth and Ram, Chanakya and Chandragupt and Samarth Ramdas and Shivaji are some of the leading examples. The invaders destroyed centers of learning along with millions of books on one hand and plundered wealth on the other hand. The country which was teaching and training the world at universities like Takshila and Nalanda reduced to having access to clerical education only. This has resulted in insecurity as well as worrying about family which gave importance to personality cult and dynasty rule despite adopting democracy. No party no state is able to get rid of it. In Kashmir it is Abdullah and Muftis and it is Karunanidhi clan in Tamil Nadu, Pawar and Thakre in Maharashtra and Gogoi and Sangma in north east, Yadavs in UP Bihar and so on.
The surprising thing is that the only party which does not have this problem has implemented the rule of not giving ticket to candidates over 75 years of age. However, it still faces the protest in indirect ways. Yashwant Sinha, Straughn Sinha are examples where they have become rebels and joined rival parties to get the ticket to become legislature. As the problem is omnipresent, the blame game is not going to work.
The way out.
“Political philosophies cannot be allowed to be the prisoners of individual leaders, for age cannot wither them nor custom stale them.” ( source unknown)
Before one jump to the solution, one has to learn about the issues involved. A person who has led the public life with success for decades has:
1. Vast experience
2. Large following
3. Great knowledge.
• These traits empower him to beat any young leader and make them yearn for power. Until unless one channelizes these resources meaningfully, they will create new parties to do politics, rebel against the existing leadership as shown above. One has to learn from bureaucracy. They have to retire at sixty but the competent one become consultant, adviser, independent director, professor, Vice Chancellors and so. In United States retired Presidents write memoirs, go on speaking tours or take up social causes but never indulge in backdoor politics. In India such instances are rare, we have the one case of Nana ji Deshmukh who worked among deprived to lift their social and economic status.
• Political parties in India have failed to develop their vote bank on permanent basis. As a result, they do not have infrastructure to use the knowledge and experience of these veterans and the only way left to these veterans is to remain in power.
• The old congress party had two power centers, the prime minister and the party president. Mrs. Indira Gandhi killed this system by centralizing power with PM.
• BJP tried it solve with the concept of Marg Darshak Mandal and posting senior leaders as Governors. Somehow Marg Darshak Mandal has not found success. The real solution will emerge only when both the minister and party administration have equal say in policy making. If attempted these vetrans will help political parties to develop the meaningful vote bank not dependent on freebies.
With growing wealth and better medication our old population is capable and competent engaging them is important. If India has a dream to rule the world as a Vishva Guru, this generation of growing old has to play a vital role and needs taming with meaningful work. The task is challenging but rewards are enormous which can not be ignored. The present leadership has the competence but the real question is whether they have the desired commitment. The solution has to be win-win solution to be effective.
By Rakesh Kumar
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)
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