Rajasthan Assembly election result update: India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma on Sunday (December 3) put forth his perspective of the Rajasthan situation ahead of the counting of votes for the fiercely-contested Assembly elections last month, and said that this day will decide the political future of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
He reflected upon the Congress’ top leadership to give Gehlot a free hand and said that the Chief Minister was successful in making the high command believe that he can hand over the state to them with victory.
“This day will decide the political future of Ashok Gehlot. It was his magic that he made the party's high command believe that only he could make the party win in Rajasthan. Sonia Gandhi had no other option but to believe in Ashok Gehlot and she gave him free hand. He got the support of Kharge,” he said.
Rajat Sharma on Vasundhara Raje
Elaborating his analysis of the BJP in its treatment of Vasundhara Raje during the election campaign, he said that the party delayed in recognising her as the party’s leader and committed the same mistake like they did in Karnataka, where the party did not declare its CM candidate.
"Vasundhara Raje knows how to run the government and also how to have control over the organisation. People of every district know her and she knows them. The BJP leadership thought to contest elections together and later decide the CM face. But that's where they committed the same mistake that they committed in Karnataka. The party delayed in accepting Vasundhara Raje as the party's leader. She was later given a free hand, but a lot of time had passed,” he said.
On the question if the Assembly elections are the semi-final ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections next year, he said that he does not agree to this perspective.
"I do not agree that the elections of four states are the semi-finals of the Lok Sabha elections. I have been watching since 2003 till now, these elections have not given the right indication," he said.
