Opinion: Ashok Gehlot's Injured Toe Achilles Heel For Assertive Kharge

The Mallikarjun Kharge-Rahul Gandhi duo has emerged as an assertive "High Command" in the Congress party. Rahul Gandhi calls the shots, Kharge effectively implements the decision. Written instructions are issued by general secretary KC Venugopal, a Rahul Gandhi confidante, citing Kharge's approval.

Amidst the uncertainty surrounding the next Opposition conclave after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) coup in Maharashtra, Venugopal tweeted that the Bengaluru meet had been deferred by a few days, to July 17-18. This announcement was made overruling Janata Dal (United) spokesman KC Tyagi's announcement that the meeting, originally scheduled for July 13, was being put off to late August, after the Monsoon Session of parliament. Team Kharge team thus asserted its primacy as the host of the meeting.

The first act of Kharge's resurgence was the formation of the cabinet in Karnataka. The appointment of TS Singh Deo as Chhattisgarh's Deputy Chief Minister was the next decisive step. The focus is now on resolving the Rajasthan imbroglio - of finding a suitable slot for Sachin Pilot with the possible concurrence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

A meeting was slotted for July 3 in Delhi to resolve the issue that has been hanging fire since Pilot's revolt in July 2020. The meeting had to be canceled as Ashok Gehlot was not in a position to travel after hurting his left toe; a few days ago, his big toe hit the leg of the Chief Minister's writing table while he was trying to get out of his chair. In a tweet, Gehlot said on the advice of doctors, he would be operating from home for a while.

Sources in the Congress say Gehlot's frequent health issues have led to as many as five postponements of crisis resolution meetings in the past, and this is the sixth.

There is a move by the High Command to rehabilitate Sachin Pilot, who has been defiant in Jaipur but is inclined to abide by the decisions taken in Delhi.

The much-delayed formation of the new Congress Working Committee, on the formula approved by the Raipur plenary in February, is held up as a decision on Pilot has not emerged. If Pilot cannot be accommodated in Jaipur - either rehabilitated as Deputy Chief Minister or as Rajasthan Congress president (a post he held till 2018) or as the anchor of the 2023 Rajasthan election campaign panel, then he may be inducted as a Congress Working Committee member. Pilot prefers to be in Jaipur.

The task of brokering peace has been assigned to former Rajasthan minister Harish Choudhary, who served as Congress observer in Punjab earlier. There is a possibility of Chaudhary being made the state president, replacing the incumbent, who is a Gehlot confidante.

Members of the Gandhi family have not met with Gehlot lately. Kharge is wary of being rash with Gehlot, who was projected as Congress president during the party's internal polls last year. In September, when Kharge led a peace-making mission to Jaipur, the revolt by MLAs deemed to be loyal to Gehlot had thrown a spanner in the works and he had returned empty-handed.

Untangling the Rajasthan imbroglio remains a challenge to the Congress leadership. As it hosts the next opposition conclave in Bengaluru, the leadership's attention span on Rajasthan may be diminished by the time Gehlot's toe recovers over the next week. After that, it will be all about strategy for the Monsoon Session of parliament, beginning July 20.

The Congress leadership asserted its authority during government formation in Karnataka. On May 19, KC Venugopal wrote to Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah giving a list of eight names approved by Kharge as ministers. "You are hereby requested to see that this decision is executed...," the letter concluded. On May 20, Siddaramaiah took oath along with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and the eight ministers listed in the diktat.

The next round came when TS Singh Deo was appointed Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh last week. His appointment was also announced by the Congress in Delhi and implemented by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in Raipur. Earlier, High Command diktats were verbal. Written instructions reach Chief Ministers now.

In 2018, when Congress won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, leadership contests emerged in all three states. It was Ashok Gehlot versus Sachin Pilot in Jaipur; Kamal Nath versus Jyotiraditya Scindia in Bhopal; and Bhupesh Baghel versus TS Singh Deo in Raipur. The original name preferred by Rahul Gandhi for Raipur was that of OBC leader Tamradhwaj Sahu. But later, the Baghel-Singh Deo rivalry emerged.

Rahul Gandhi was the Congress president then. His preference was for Pilot, Scindia and Sahu initially. But in those days, the writ of Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, who enjoyed her confidence, ran. Thus, Gehlot and Nath from the team of "elders" prevailed. Rahul Gandhi assured the rivals in Jaipur and Bhopal that the tide would turn in their favour, ultimately. Scindia lost his patience and quit, taking down the Kamal Nath government and restoring the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP rule in Bhopal in March 2020. Pilot revolted in July 2020.

In Raipur, as per Rahul Gandhi's arrangement, Baghel was to rule for 30 months and then hand over the baton to Singh Deo. Baghel went back on his assurance. Singh Deo became a rebel but unlike Pilot, did not resign from the government. His perseverance has paid off now.

Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have been acting in tandem. Their body language was clear during the opposition meet in Patna - Rahul was seen assisting Kharge when the octogenarian was climbing a few steps to reach the venue. Rahul yielded space to the Congress president when he was beckoned by host Nitish Kumar to be the first speaker (he spoke at the very end).

The Gujarat and Mumbai unit chiefs have been changed. The list of Congress Working Committee members is said to be ready. A new role may be assigned to Priyanka Gandhi, tasking her with the campaign in Telangana. Shashi Tharoor, who acquitted himself well in the contest against Kharge for party presidentship, is likely to be in the 35-member body. New AICC (All India Congress Committee) office bearers are also being slotted.

A solution to the Rajasthan crisis is Work In Progress for the Congress leadership. Will Gehlot's injured toe prove to be the Achilles Heel for Kharge's assertiveness or will the party leadership have its way?

(Shubhabrata Bhattacharya is a retired Editor and a public affairs commentator.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.