Congress candidate list, Assembly elections, Rajasthan Assembly elections: The first list of about 100 Congress candidates in Rajasthan can be released at any time. The heartbeats of the contenders are fast from Jaipur to Delhi. Meanwhile, a statement by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has increased the political excitement. Referring to Operation Lotus, Gehlot gave statements in favor of 101 MLAs.
While talking to journalists, Ashok Gehlot again touched upon the tune of Rs 10 crore. Gehlot said that when there was a conspiracy to topple the government in Rajasthan in 2020, an offer of Rs 10 crore each was given to independent MLAs. The MLAs refused to accept it.
Gehlot also said that if they had taken it, who would have done what? Who is going to question the MLAs who took the money? Experts believe that this statement of Gehlot is a part of pressure politics. Gehlot is busy advocating for independent and BSP MLAs to get tickets from Congress. In the last two days, many independent MLAs have met Gehlot.
First, know what is the matter of Rs 10 crore.
In the Rajasthan 2018 elections, Congress won 100 seats, BJP 73, BSP 6, RLP 3, CPM-BTP 2-2, and RLD 1. 13 independents also managed to win, out of which 11 were Congress rebels.
After the elections, Congress handed over the post of Chief Minister to Ashok Gehlot. His close contender Sachin Pilot got the post of Deputy Chief Minister, but this pairing did not last long. In June 2020, Sachin Pilot sounded the bugle of rebellion.
Pilot along with his 25 MLAs went to Manesar in Haryana, after which the government came in danger. Gehlot called Sachin Pilot’s visit to Manesar a conspiracy by the BJP and linked the entire incident to Operation Lotus. Gehlot said that the MLAs have been taken away on the strength of money.
To fail Pilot’s plan, Gehlot included BSP, CPM, BTP, and independent MLAs with him. Including all the MLAs, Gehlot was successful in crossing the figure of 101, after which the government did not fall. Here, the Congress high command was also successful in convincing Sachin Pilot.
There was an echo of Rs 10 crore in the entire episode. According to Gehlot, big leaders of the BJP offered Rs 10 crore each to the MLAs to topple the government. Some MLAs also took money.
Gehlot had said in a program that some of our MLAs received Rs 10 crore each from the BJP. I have asked those MLAs to return his money. If someone has spent the money, I will give it to him or get it from the Congress high command.
Crisis on tickets of 2 dozen MLAs
According to Congress sources, the tickets of about two dozen MLAs are under threat. There are also 4 veteran ministers among them. The Congress high command has conducted a survey of 200 seats from a company that plays an important role in the Karnataka elections.
The company has submitted a panel of 3 names on each seat to the Congress high command. In this survey, the names of the strongest contenders are written in green letters and the names of the weakest contenders are written in red letters. The regional equation has also been mentioned in the survey.
The biggest crisis is faced by independent and BSP MLAs. Ashok Gehlot is against the cancellation of tickets for independent MLAs. Gehlot argues that all these have saved the government. In such a situation, if their ticket is deducted, a wrong message will be sent.
Trouble on tickets of independent MLAs, 3 reasons…
- Opposition to Sachin Pilot camp – In 2018, Sanyam Lodha, Alok Beniwal, Kanti Prasad Meena, Khushveer Singh Jojawar, Baljeet Yadav, Mahadev Singh Khandela, Ramila Khadiya, Ramukmar Gaur, Ramkesh Meena, Laxman Meena, Om Prakash Hoodla and Suresh Tak are independent. Had won.
Suresh Tak and Om Prakash Hoodla rebelled against the BJP and won the elections. The remaining 11 were Congress rebels. 11 rebel Congress MLAs had won from those seats where the party had given tickets to people close to Sachin Pilot.
The Pilot camp’s allegation was that all of them had contested the elections at the behest of Ashok Gehlot. This time also Pilot is claiming tickets for his supporters.
The pilot group is not ready to leave Shahpura, Sriganganagar, and Behror under any circumstances. In Shahpura and Behror, Congress candidates lost the elections by only 3 thousand votes.
Om Prakash Hoodla is also being opposed within the Congress. The claimants against HUDLA have also camped in Delhi. These leaders say that giving tickets to outsider Hoodla will weaken the organization.
- The desire for a dummy candidate is strong – There is talk in the political circles that most of the MLAs want to contest as independents again. These MLAs demand that Congress candidates should contest the elections against them but as a dummy.
Independent MLA Baljeet Yadav has even formed his own party. Baljeet is an MLA from Behror and is considered very close to Ashok Gehlot.
Congress can give the ticket to an independent who is strong in the survey, but the first condition is to join the party. At the same time, some independent candidates are asking for tickets for their sons only. Among these, the name of Mahadev Khandela is prominent. Khandela is asking for a ticket for his Pradhan son.
Subhash Meel of Sachin Pilot Camp is opposing this. Congress is afraid of disturbing its equation due to the crowd gathering at the Meel rally.
Will the Youth Congress, Student Congress, and Bharat Yatri also get preference?
There is talk of the Youth Congress, Student Congress, and Bharat Jodo Yatri also getting preference in ticket distribution of Congress. Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Randhawa had claimed that this time the party will give more preference to youth and women.
There is talk of giving a chance to new faces on those MLAs against whom there is anti-incumbency.
Not only this, many big personalities are also trying to get tickets for their respective sons. Minister Govind Ram Meghwal has publicly demanded tickets for his family members. Minister Zahida Khan has also demanded a ticket for her daughter.
Congress has experimented with ticket distribution in Rajasthan.
For the first time, Congress has done a new experiment in ticket distribution in Rajasthan. The party had asked all the contenders to apply at the block level. After this, district-level leaders scrutinized the names.
The district organization had sent the list of possible contenders to the State Congress Committee. Leaders sent from the national organization were also involved in the scrutiny of names at the district level. Earlier it was said that the ticket would be announced in September, but due to the panel not being decided, the names kept getting postponed.
How are legislative tickets distributed in Congress?
There are three main processes for deciding tickets in Congress. Under this, first of all, the state organization prepares a panel of names after taking inputs from the district level. After this, the Congress High Command forms a screening committee.
The screening committee prepares a list of all the contenders. After this, discussions are held with big leaders in each seat. The names on which there is not much controversy are taken forward with a single panel.
After this, there is a meeting of the Congress Election Committee. This is the most authorized unit for ticket distribution. After getting the approval of the Congress Election Committee, the names of the candidates are announced through the official handle of the party.
The state president of Congress can give A and B forms only to those names whose names are approved by the Congress Election Committee. On the basis of this form, the candidates get the authorized election symbol of the party from the Election Commission.
A survey has increased the party’s problems, hence the delay
Opinion poll survey has increased the problems of Congress in Rajasthan. According to the ABP-C voter survey, BJP may get 127-137 seats. At the same time, Congress is expected to get 59-69 seats.
There are a total of 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan, out of which a party needs 101 seats to form the government.
53 percent of the people surveyed told C-Voter that Congress may suffer a loss in the elections due to the fight between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan. This time there is a lot of difference in the vote percentage also.
According to the survey, Congress may get 42% votes, BJP 47%, and others may get 11% votes. Rahul Gandhi has also talked about a close contest in Rajasthan. It is believed that this is the main reason for the delay in ticket distribution.
Congress is working on a strategy to take the lead in closely contested seats with the help of candidates. Like the BJP, the Congress is also preparing to field national leaders in the elections.
According to the Election Commission, voting will be held on all 200 assembly seats of Rajasthan on November 25. The counting of votes will take place on December 3. The process of nomination of candidates in the state will start on October 30.
The last date for nomination is 6th November. Candidates will be able to withdraw their names till 9th November.
