Rajasthan: Poster war heats up in Jhalawar

KOTA: The reconciliation between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, mediated by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, seems to be limited to a photo opportunity as the impacts of the feud continue to be seen.
In Jhalawar, where Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) is scheduled to enter two days later, supporters of Gehlot and Pilot are seen engaged in competitive efforts to dominate the ground.
While Congress workers in Jhalawar and across the region are enthusiastic to greet Gandhi and his yatra, groupism among the party’s workers has spilt over to the streets and spoiling the mood for many.
Jhalawar is a BJP stronghold under ex-CM Vasundhra Raje, who has represented Jhalrapatan constituency in the Assembly uninterruptedly for 16 years and wields influence across the Hadauti region. BJY will enter Jhalawar on Sunday evening.
Pramod Sharma, a parliamentary candidate of Congress in the last Lok Sabha election, alleged that the district minister in charge, Pramod Jain Bhaya, is working to weaken the party’s roots by leading his own group and trying to establish his supporters locally while side-lining other workers.
“This particular group (Bhaya’s) is going everywhere only with Pilot’s posters and banners, and hardly any hoardings, banners and posters display Gehlot’s images. Most hoardings carry pictures of Pilot, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi occupying maximum space while the photos of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi are put in small circles at the corners,” said Sharma.
He further said such “tactics by the Pilot group to dominate the ground” during BJY would frustrate local Congress leaders’ efforts to strengthen the party’s ground and weaken BJP in Jhalawar.
Sharma also said that at the organizational level, Congress workers in Jhalawar have not been assigned any responsibility and that they are engaged in preparation on their own sense of duty to the party.
“The hoardings and posters for BJY in Jhalawar indicate that the power struggle between Gehlot and Pilot is not going to end soon despite Venugopal’s intervention,” said a senior Congress Seva Dal worker engaged in preparation for BJY at Chanwali in Jhalawar.