GEHLOT FIGHTING ON THREE FRONTS IN RAJASTHAN

Weeks ahead of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of the Congress is busy shielding himself from three fronts-the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, his archrival within the party Sachin Pilot and the grand old party's high command, if party insiders are to be believed.

- BADAR BASHIR

While the BJP is his natural opposition, it's the other two who are making Gehlot insecure. He is worried that the Congress' top leadership will decide against him after the results are declared, and will replace him with Pilot, say insiders. As if anticipating this, Gehlot has removed photos of Pilot and the party's central leaders from several hoardings and posters across state capital Jaipur, giving rise to the impression that he wants to project himself as the main pull for the voters. It's being said that he thinks by wooing the voters on his own, he will leverage his claim for the state's top position if the Congress returns to power, apart from emerging bigger than the party. The downside is that if the Congress loses, then the sole responsibility for the defeat will be on Gehlot's shoulders. 

When asked about the missing photos, a top leader in the state said, "The other leaders are not there because the party wants to display the photos of the office bearers. It has nothing to do with anything else. Sachin Pilot is a star campaigner and a very prominent leader. His importance will not get diminished just by not having him on the party's posters. He will remain a prominent leader."