With the feeling that it may need much more than slogans of good governance to win again in Rajasthan, the Congress has plunged into full-fledged ‘social engineering’ based on caste lines. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to launch an elaborate campaign in the state on May 13, when she is likely to visit the state. Added to this, leaders of important votebank castes have been recently accommodated in the AICC reshuffle and would now carry more weight while participating in this campaign. The campaign timing had to be tuned to divert attention from the drudgery of continuing drought. That has been a consideration for beginning the campaign in May, the height of summer in the state, and run into the following months, when the monsoon is expected to arrive. ‘‘May is the worst for Rajasthan because even the fodder dries up, and livestock begin to die. In case the monsoon, as is being feared, fails this time, then the state would be in dire straits,’’ a senior state leader says. The Congress plans to let chief ministers of other states, senior leaders from the AICC and from the state, to tour these areas during these troubling times. Thakurs are an important caste for the Congress as they have been loyal to the BJP for years. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, a Thakur, would be given the job of engineering a tilt among Thakurs. He, in turn, has enlisted Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a Scheduled Caste of Mali community, for appeasing SCs in Madhya Pradesh. Thakur support to the BJP has traditionally pushed the Jat community towards the Congress. And, therefore, this is one votebank which the Congress is seeking to consolidate. Senior leader Natwar Singh is expected to visit areas with considerable Jat presence to gather support. A few months ago, senior Jat leader Kamla was made Deputy CM hoping it would help appease the community. When the Congress came to power after long BJP rule, the Jats had hoped they would land the post of chief minister but were disappointed. Brahmins could be the crucial community this election, with a 20-25 per cent presence in the state. Of the 20 Brahmin MLAs, 18 are of the Congress. And yet, the Congress is now not very sure of their support — a reason being given for the elevation of senior leader Nawal Kishore Sharma to the Congress Working Committee. He is considered the senior-most Brahmin leader here. The BJP would try to counter him with Hari Shanker Bhadbha, Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi and Ghanshyam Tewari. Besides Sharma, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is expected to campaign. Rajasthan PCC president Girija Vyas, also a Brahmin, is participating in conventions across the state. However, the party might have to make its stand clear on whether it favours reservation for Brahmins. For the Scheduled Caste, the party has Deputy CM Banwari Lal Bhairwa. Recently, senior leader Buta Singh was reinstated in the AICC clearly with an eye on SC votes in the state. Besides these, Maharastra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde would canvas for support. Rama Pilot, who has been given an AICC berth, will represent the Gujjar community. Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi, a tribal, would be employed to corner the Scheduled Tribes votes. The fact that another senior state leader Mulchand Meena has been elevated to the AICC would also help.
