New Delhi: In Congress’ biggest gain since 2014 on a counting day, it won Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the just concluded assembly elections in five states. The BJP, on the other hand, drew a blank.
In the Congress camp, however, there is now the problem of choosing the chief ministers for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh courtesy the sharp internal competition.
In the two largest BJP-ruled states, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress has one popular young leader and one veteran vying for the top job, it might have to explore the possibility of a deputy chief minister to keep everyone in good humour.
In Rajasthan, two-time former Chief Minister and General Secretary of All India Congress Committee Ashok Gehlot, and former Member of Parliament and Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot are in line for the CM post. While in Madhya Pradesh, long-serving MP, former union minister and state Congress chief Kamal Nath, and young MP from Guna Jyotiraditya Scindia are in the contention.
With two prominent candidates for one post in each state, the Congress could be preparing to give one leader the rare post of the Deputy Chief Minister. The Congress have installed a Deputy CM in Rajasthan only once in the past when Kamla Beniwal took charge of the post in 1998 under Ashok Gehlot’s leadership.
In Madhya Pradesh, Congress’ Shiv Bhanu Singh Solanki was the Deputy CM in Arjun Singh’s cabinet in 1980. Later, Congress leader Subhash Gangaram Yadav was Deputy CM from 1993 to 1998 in Digvijaya Singh’s government. He was succeeded by Jamuna Devi, who became the first woman Deputy CM in the state when she was promoted to the post under Singh’s government in 1998.
“Geographically, Rajasthan is the biggest state in the country. So the party high command would think 10 times before handing over leadership to a novice,” said Narayan Bareth, former BBC journalist and political analyst.
“Often the party would go through a process to acquaint that leader with politics, administration, caste system, and geography so he can be given the task (of leadership) in the future,” Bareth added.
The post of Deputy CM is thus a good way to groom a young leader for future responsibilities. As Bareth said, there can be a balance between the old and new. “The Congress is also going through a leadership crisis at regional level. They need a face that is acceptable across sections,” Bareth said.
According to him, when Beniwal was made Deputy CM in 1998, the decision was taken keeping the ‘caste equation’ in mind. So a similar strategic decision could be taken this time too.
In Madhya Pradesh, though there is precedence, the decision over a possible Deputy CM depends on who the CM would be, said political analyst Girja Shankar. “If Kamal Nath becomes CM then there is no need for a Deputy CM. Because Deputy CM is required when the CM candidate is weak. For example, Arjun Singh did not get the majority vote from Legislators for the CM post. But he had to be made CM under pressure from Delhi. Solanki had got the majority vote for the post, so he was made the Deputy CM,” Shankar said.
According to him, a popular Deputy CM is brought in to compensate for a CM who is not widely accepted. Shankar emphasised that Kamal Nath is the senior most leader in MP.
“In early stages of campaigning, Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Digvijay Singh were all in the fray. But with time, Nath has taken over; there is no second or third option now,” Shankar said.
There are two other factors that pave a clear path to CM office for Nath: First, prominent state leaders Arun Yadav and Ajay Singh Rahul are not particularly popular among the people, so there would be little resistance from them if Nath is given the top job. Second, the caste balance was already taken care of when Nath had formed the executive committee in July. “They had adjusted SC, ST and OBC leaders in the committee, so that will be no need of such adjustment when forming the government,” Shankar said. “Nath is well prepared to take on as CM,” he added.
So far the Congress have refrained from favouring one leader over the other for the CM post in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In fact, in Rajasthan, the BJP made this a point of attack on the grand old party, saying that they were unsure about leadership and riddled with factionalism and infighting.
Pilot himself has fielded the question of leadership several times ahead of the polls, swatting away allegations of tension within the party over the CM candidate. “It is a party policy. We never announce the CM candidate ahead of polls. After elections, senior leaders and MLAs will sit and decide the CM candidate,” he had said.
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