With Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath set to take charge as chief ministers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively – and Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia to be ‘accomodated’ – here are five reasons why Rahul chose to go with the “experienced” ranks among his party over the “energetic”:
1. Need Experienced Leaders to Combat BJP
Madhya Pradesh has 29 Lok Sabha seats and Rajasthan has 25 seats. To have a command on those seats, Congress needed a disciplined and experienced leader.
Gehlot has served as the Rajasthan chief minister twice and has a loyal voter base.
Nath, meanwhile, has served as the Congress Madhya Pradesh state unit president and had been a nine-time Member of Parliament from Chhindwara. He has been an experienced political strategist and has fund-raising capabilities.
2. Need Young Leaders For Campaigning During 2019
Even though both Scindia and Pilot have emerged as hard working, successful young leaders in their respective states, one cannot deny that they lack the administrative experience.
Instead, keeping both the young leaders free of huge responsibilities could be helpful during campaigning for the 2019 General elections.
3. Bridging the Gap
The two pictures shared on Twitter by Rahul Gandhi, where he is seen standing with the ‘old guard’ and the ‘young guard’ of both the states - MP and Rajasthan, show that the Congress president walked the talk of bridging the differences between the two generations within the party.
He had promised he would capitalise on talent and energy and combine experience and youth. And so he did. While he gave opportunities to the younger lot – Pilot was made the Rajasthan state chief after the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle – he did not deny the ‘old guard’ its due – Ghulam Nabi Azad and Gehlot were made election in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat respectively.
4. Fragile Majority
In both the states, Congress won with a fragile majority (99 of 199 seats in Rajasthan and 114 of 230 seats in MP), which means the party will have to work with allies and independents and an old warhorse like Gehlot or Nath will be quick to get the work going.
They will also help consolidate the party's achievements in the states. Nath, thanks to his connections with industrialists, will also be resourceful in bringing in job-creating projects to MP.
5. Appointing Pilot Could Have Tilted the Caste Calculations in Rajasthan
Pilot, son of Rajesh Pilot, is a prominent leader from the Gurjar community, which is seen as a rival by the Jats and the Meenas – that form a major part of the population in Rajasthan.
Appointing a Gurjar chief minister could have upset the caste groups and Rahul cannot afford to lose out on major chunks of the voter base ahead of the 2019 elections, where Rajasthan gives his party 25 seats.
Gehlot, on the other hand, is from the Mali community, which is not seen as a rival by any caste group. Moreover, given that he has served as the chief minister before, Gehlot is a safer choice to make.
With ‘old guards’ handed the keys to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and ‘new blood’ kept in queue, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has managed to not just secure a healthy balance within the party but could also be well on track to consolidate the Congress as a perfect bridge between "energy and experience".
(With inputs from Hindi Quint)
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