In New Delhi, prominent Congress figure Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is poised to lead the Rajasthan campaign, uniting the often conflicting forces of ex-chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in a gathering in Jalore on April 14. Although Gehlot and Pilot have been actively promoting the party across the state, this occasion will mark their first joint appearance in Priyanka Gandhi’s presence, according to party insiders.
The rally in Jalore stands as the centerpiece of her two-day endeavor spanning April 14 and 15. The high-profile contest in Jalore sees Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Ashok Gehlot, vying for the Congress ticket. In the 2019 national elections, Vaibhav Gehlot had contested from the Jodhpur seat but was defeated by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, despite his father’s position as Chief Minister.
Determined to secure victory for his son, Ashok Gehlot is sparing no effort, as Vaibhav now competes in Jalore against BJP’s Numbaram Chaudhury. Given Jalore’s substantial Scheduled Castes and OBCs population, including the Mali community from which Ashok Gehlot hails, the area is deemed favorable for Vaibhav.
The former chief minister leveraged his influence over BSP candidate from Jalore Lal Singh Rathore, leading to Rathore’s withdrawal in favor of Vaibhav Gehlot. In recent days, Ashok Gehlot has led several rallies in the Jalore region, with Vaibhav’s wife and daughter also participating in the campaign to garner support.
Pilot recently acknowledged that he had campaigned for Vaibhav in 2019 when he served as the state unit chief and expressed readiness to support him in 2024, indicating his harmonious relationship with Ashok Gehlot. The ongoing power struggle between Gehlot and Pilot has been a persistent challenge for the Congress leadership since the party assumed power in Rajasthan in 2018.
Party sources attribute the 2023 assembly loss to internal strife between the two heavyweights and flawed candidate selection. AICC secretary in charge of Rajasthan, Virendra Rathore, told ETV Bharat, “We are confident of securing Jalore. Priyanka Gandhi’s presence will provide us with additional momentum.”
In the 2019 elections, the BJP claimed 24 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with its ally RLP securing the Nagaur seat. The BJP garnered 58.4% of the vote compared to the Congress’s 34.2%. For 2024, RLP leader Hanuman Beniwal will contest Nagaur as part of the INDIA bloc, while the Congress has ceded the Sikar seat to CPI-M and the Banswara seat to the tribal BAP.
The alliance dynamics and the reported opposition the BJP faces in Rajasthan have energized Congress strategists. Former BJP MP Rahul Kaswan is running from Churu on a Congress ticket, while ex-BJP MLA Prahlad Gunjal is contesting from Kota against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla under the Congress banner. “The Congress is mounting a robust challenge. The BJP’s internal divisions will likely hinder a repeat of their sweeping 2019 victory,” Rathore noted.