By making canal and pension an election issue, Gehlot has put a lot of pressure on the BJP.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is called the magician of politics. He has left no stone unturned to show his magic in politics. Whatever may have been the situation, Gehlot has been successful on the strength of his political magic skills. For this reason, he is going to complete the innings of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the third time. Recently, he presented the last budget of his tenure in which many breathtaking announcements have been made. Which can be beneficial in the coming elections.

Assembly elections are to be held in Rajasthan by the end of this year. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wants him to create a new record in Rajasthan by becoming the Chief Minister for the fourth time. Gehlot’s whole effort this time is to change the ongoing practice of changing the government every time in the state since 1990. For this, Gehlot has already started his preparations on a war footing. Apart from making many populist announcements for the common people of the state in the budget, Gehlot is also engaged in preparing a strategy to win the next assembly elections at the political level. Chief Minister Gehlot’s announcement to implement the old pension scheme for all government employees in Rajasthan has put the BJP in trouble. At the same time, on the issue of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project, he is leaving no stone unturned to corner the BJP. The Eastern Canal Project can prove to be a boon for drinking water and irrigation in 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan. About three and a half crore people of these 13 districts where sweet water will be available for drinking. There will also be irrigation of 1.5 to 2 lakh hectare land. Due to which the economic condition of the people will be strengthened.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s government had announced the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project in the 2017-18 budget. The project covers total 13 districts of Rajasthan including Jaipur, Dausa, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Bundi, Kota, Baran and Jhalawar. After the completion of this project, drinking water and irrigation facilities will be available in 13 districts. Chief Minister Gehlot knows very well that no one can stop the Congress from forming the government for the second time if it gets a lead in these 13 districts. There are 83 assembly seats in these 13 districts. Out of which Congress currently has 49 seats and BJP has 25 seats. In such a situation, the Congress wants to maintain this issue till the upcoming assembly elections. So that the voters can be in his favor. That is why Gehlot is aggressively doing politics regarding this canal project. Wherever he gets a chance, he does not miss to attack the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of this canal. To woo the voters of 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan, Gehlot has made a provision of Rs 13,000 crore for the canal in the budget this time. Gehlot has said that even if the central government does not provide assistance for this canal project, he will complete it with the resources of the state government.

Recently, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dausa, Chief Minister Gehlot, while addressing the public meeting through video conferencing, had demanded the Prime Minister to give the status of national project to this canal project. Gehlot knows that by repeatedly putting the central government in the dock for this project, he can surround the BJP in the next assembly elections. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MP from Jodhpur, Rajasthan is also the Minister of Jal Shakti Department in the Central Government. In such a situation, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been repeatedly demanding from him to provide central assistance for this project. However, the central government can declare it a national project only after mutual consent in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But Ashok Gehlot knows very well that in view of the next assembly elections, this is the best opportunity to put pressure on the central government. Which he does not want to lose at any cost.

The BJP is completely against the implementation of the old pension scheme for government employees. The Prime Minister has repeatedly expressed his disagreement over the revival of the old pension scheme. Due to this, the state level leaders of BJP are also opposing the old pension scheme. But due to the humiliating defeat of the BJP in the assembly elections held in Himachal Pradesh recently, concern is also being expressed about this issue within the party. In its election manifesto in Himachal Pradesh, Congress had promised to give old pension scheme to government employees. Congress got a huge victory in Himachal Pradesh. Due to which the leaders of the Congress party are very excited.

However, there could be other reasons for the Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh. But the promise of restoration of the old pension scheme has also been a big reason. That is why the Congress party is demanding to implement the old pension scheme everywhere. Even in his budget speech, Chief Minister Gehlot had asked the BJP MLAs to convince Prime Minister Narendra Modi to re-implement the old pension scheme in the interest of the employees. Following Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the governments of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have also announced to give old pension scheme to their government employees.

After the announcement of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s old pension scheme, many anti-BJP parties have also supported this demand and demanded its implementation across the country. The central government employees’ organizations have also been demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme for a long time. Because of this, it is bound to have sympathy for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for all the government employees of the country. Gehlot is aware that the issue of old pension scheme started by him has become a nationwide issue today. In such a situation, he does not want to leave any stone unturned to capitalize on it.

The entire command of the next assembly elections has to remain in the hands of Gehlot. That is why he has tied up with many private publicity agencies to enhance the image of his government. These agencies will work to take the achievements of the Gehlot government to the common people till the next assembly elections. Chief Minister Gehlot knows that the party high command is angry with him for the events that took place in Jaipur on 25 September. Along with this, he had also rejected the post of the national president of the party. After that he has not been in the good books of the high command. The party high command can be jolted whenever they get a chance. In such a situation, he wants to get the Congress government repeated in Rajasthan to regain the confidence of the party high command. The next assembly election is no less than a war for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. If he wins the election, he will emerge as the tallest leader in the party and if he loses, it will be his last innings in politics.

Ramesh Saraf Dhamora

(The author is a freelance journalist accredited by the Government of Rajasthan. His articles continue to be published in many newspapers of the country.)