Dholpur Bypoll 2017—a matter of pride and prestige for political parties in Rajasthan ended with BJP registering a landslide victory by a majority of 38,673 votes. With this, Raje-led BJP established an earth-shattering record in the history of Rajasthan. Amidst bitter criticism, controversies and opposition, BJP projected former Dholpur MLA B.L. Kushwah’s wife Shobha Rani as their candidate in Dholpur bypoll elections. Congress fielded former MP Banwari lal Sharma against Shobha Rani. The competition was tough but Shobha Rani bagged 91,548 votes, defeating Banwari Lal in process, who received just 52,875 votes.
BJP’s victory in Dholpur was followed by a persistent gloomy atmosphere in the Congress camp. The earth-shattering ‘saffron’ victory in Dholpur election clearly indicates that Congress needs to work on their election strategies, should they want to win 2018 state assembly elections in Rajasthan.
Here are 5 things that Congress must learn from their shameful defeat in Dholpur.
- Stop Projecting Rahul Gandhi as PM Candidate at Centre and Sachin Pilot as their CM candidate in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan has witnessed great leaders like Mohan Lal Sukhadia, Kalyan Singh and Bhairo Singh Shekhawat. Compared to these legends, Sachin Pilot and Rahul Gandhi are inexperienced rookies with no vision. Vasundhara Raje’s “reform rollouts” almost bring her at par with political veterans, but Pilot and Gandhi don’t stand a chance altogether! If Congress continues projecting Gandhi and Pilot in the next elections, it’ll soon fall out of the political game.
- Caste Card doesn’t Work, Public is Smarter than Ever!
Rajasthan is a culturally diverse state that includes 36 different communities. One just can’t sideline one particular community and highlight the other for their selfish gains.
Congress turned to Sachin Pilot for Dholpur elections thinking that he’ll bring in Gujjar and Jat votes to the party. They also fielded Muslim, OBC and SC/ST leaders to build up a solid vote bank. Sadly it didn’t work in Congress’s case. For a party that preaches ‘secularism’, Congress is too reliant on caste-based votes. It’s high time they stop relying on caste-politics and come up with a development-centric vision.
- Youths aren’t Misguided by Self-Styled Youth Icons anymore!
Back in 2000 when Rahul Gandhi was declared as ‘Youth Icon’ of India, he was thrilled with this title. We don’t know who coined this title for junior Gandhi, but things have really changed in last one decade. Modern-day youth want a progressive state, stable job opportunities, professional growth and better standards of living that Congress clearly failed to provide in 60 years of their reign.
- Both Vision and Passion are Necessary for Development!
‘Vision’ and ‘Passion’—these are two areas where Congress lacks. Young leaders lack in vision. The senior leaders are not passionate about implementation and monitoring of different policies. Contrary to this, BJP perfectly balances this equation. The party is a mixture of young and old faces that have clear-cut policies regarding Rajasthan’s development.
- Overconfidence and Blame-Game Sank their Ship!
Raje’s growing hold over Rajasthan was an outcome of her development-centric, reformatory policies. Compared to this, Congress had no option other than accusing the current government of minor shortcomings in policy implementation. In process, their leaders used degratory comments against CM Raje, without considering she’s a woman—something that didn’t sit well with the public. Besides, Pilot and Gehlot were too confident of their victory in Dholpur—a major reason behind their defeat in other states, as well.
Dholpur loss was a lesson for Congress leaders. They must learn from their mistakes and think over their strategies, if they wish to retain their respect in Rajasthan 2018 elections.
