Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot doesn't miss any chance to remind people about BJP leader and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje's role in saving his government. He feels sympathetic about Raje's losing influence in the party and requests BJP high command not to penalise Raje for saving his (Gehlot's) government.
On the optic value, people may consider Ashok Gehlot a generous and kind hearted person who is concerned about Raje's slide in the party. But those who know Gehlot – the politician – understand that it's a reverse swing from Gehlot's armoury, which is aimed at bowling out.
“As Rahul Gandhi said contest in Rajasthan is tight. Gehlot can ensure victory only when Raje stay away from action. So he is trying to create differences between central leadership and Raje by repeating the ‘political generosity' of Raje for him,” said Rakesh Sharma, a political analyst.
“For winning either you are strong or your enemy is weak. Here Gehlot can't get his party on a strong footing, so he is trying to weaken the opposition,” Sharma added.
Gehlot knows that there is a gap between Raje and central leadership and by airing sympathy for Raje, he can widen the gap which could badly affect the party's performance in the election.
“Sachin Pilot and Gehlot can't be together from within. That means Congress can't fight the election unitedly. So the best bet for Gehlot is to divide BJP and create rift in the party. He is posing to be a well wisher of Raje making her drift from party's core team. If his ploy works and Raje is kept out of scheme of things as the case has been so far, sealing victory for Gehlot will be easier,” said Ramkesh Choudhary, another political analyst
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
