Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s loss is Congress’ gain?

As BJP welcomed its new state president, many Rajput community leaders have come out openly against the BJP. Angry with the party over its choice of the state president’s selection, a group of Rajput leaders from western Rajasthan met AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot in Delhi clandestinely. The meeting lasted for almost an hour and discussions were held over their association with Congress in the upcoming elections.

The Rajput leaders assured to get a large number of community youth to join Congress during party president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state. In Jaipur, Shree Kashtriya Yuvak Sangh announced its support to Congress in the upcoming elections. BJP on Friday named Madan Lal Saini as the state president even as Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was being considered for the post by the central leadership. They claim that CM Raje is responsible for opposing Shekhawat’s appointment. “We will oppose her and support Congress,” said Bhagwan Singh Rolsabsar, president of the Kashtriya Yuvak Sangh. 

Controversy over the state president issue meanwhile has further opened fissures between BJP and Rajput groups. The community is considered to be a traditional BJP vote bank but incidents such as departure of senior leader Jaswant Singh and encounter of Anandpal Singh have created ripples among community leadership. Appointment of Shekhawat as the state president would have helped the party gain back the lost support, but now  it has ended up further worsening the ties.