Gehlot Under Siege | Rajasthan

Signs that Congress-ruled Rajasthan would be swept by the Modi wave for a second consecutive Lok Sabha election were evident early on. The December assembly election brought the Congress to power with 100 seats, one short of a simple majority in the 200-member assembly. At that time, even committed BJP and RSS workers had worked to ensure the defeat of Vasundhara Raje, even coining the slogan 'Vasundhara teri khair nahin, Modi se bair nahin (We will not spare Vasundhara, but no enmity with Modi)'.

The euphoria, though, was short-lived. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had sensed a tough Lok Sabha battle ahead and had been pointing to a pro-Modi sentiment. A 25-nil defeat-a repeat of the verdict in 2014- means Gehlot will have much to explain to the Congress high command, who had picked him for the top job over Sachin Pilot, hoping the decision would reflect in the Congress's performance in the general election. To the chief minister's embarrassment, son Vaibhav Gehlot lost to the BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in his home turf of Jodhpur. The BJP increased the victory margin to over 200,000 votes in 20 seats, including Jodhpur.

Gehlot had begun his innings with a series of populist measures, but the Congress's promise of waiving farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh within 10 days of assuming power backfired. The Gehlot government failed to get public sector banks to waive the loans before the Lok Sabha election process set in. Farmers took it as a promise not fulfilled, and some even drew comparisons with the Rs 50,000 loan waiver by the Raje government last year and the benefits extended by the Modi government, such as LPG connections and toilets.

With Pilot expected to turn up the heat, a defensive Gehlot camp is citing how the Modi wave has crushed the Congress across the country and how a change of chief minister would further damage the party in the state. Gehlot, for his part, has also alleged that EVMs were manipulated, a charge he levelled even after the 2003 assembly poll defeat. Gehlot has also accused the BJP of trying to destabilise his government. His aides say he alone can carry the party MLAs and dozen independents along. The BJP's hope would be that Pilot, who enjoys the support of 35 Congress MLAs, raises the banner of revolt. The turf war in the state Congress is set to intensify.