Rajasthan's incumbent Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, launched a scathing critique against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expressing dissatisfaction with what he deemed a protracted "delay" in the announcement of the succeeding state leadership. Gehlot, who is on the cusp of stepping down from his role, took aim at the BJP for what he perceived as a failure to promptly designate the next chief minister, characterizing this delay as indicative of the "true colours" of the BJP and implying a perceived lack of organizational discipline within the party.
During his criticism, Gehlot highlighted the fact that the BJP took seven days to finalize a chief minister, underscoring the purported lack of decisiveness within the party. He went on to suggest that had the Congress not promptly presented a chief ministerial candidate within six days of the election results, the BJP would have seized the opportunity to allege internal strife and discord within the Congress ranks.
Gehlot remarked, "The BJP's true colours are becoming evident. For seven days, you couldn't decide on a chief minister, and you talk about discipline in our party." He further emphasized the irony in the BJP's delay by contrasting it with a hypothetical scenario where Congress failed to appoint a chief minister within a similar timeframe, positing that the BJP would have exploited such a situation to claim internal divisions within the Congress party.
The BJP, having secured 115 seats out of 199 in the state Assembly during the December 3 poll results, is poised to assume governance in Rajasthan. Gehlot's criticism prompted a swift response from Rajasthan BJP State president CP Joshi, who reminded Gehlot of the Congress's own delay in appointing a chief minister in 2018.
As speculation swirls regarding potential candidates for the Chief Minister's post, including Vasundhara Raje, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Meghwal, and others, Gehlot's comments added a political dimension to the ongoing developments. Meanwhile, the BJP, in response to Gehlot's criticism, named central observers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, for the election of leaders in its legislature parties in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.
Gehlot also took the opportunity to comment on the BJP's victory, attributing it to what he characterized as the BJP's strategy of fostering "an atmosphere of polarisation" during the Assembly elections. He pointed to the party's emphasis on divisive issues, such as the Kanhaiyalal murder, as contributing to the polarized environment that allegedly played a role in the BJP's electoral success.
Furthermore, Gehlot addressed the transfer of Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi's murder case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). While expressing cooperation by signing documents for the NIA investigation, Gehlot noted the elapsed time without the BJP finalizing a new Chief Minister to take on such responsibilities, urging a swift resolution to the matter.
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