With the BJP not declaring a chief ministerial face for the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan and banking on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the electioneering has become a Modi vs Gehlot contest.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's extensive public outreach has become a mainstay of the Congress party's campaign in Rajasthan, while PM Modi has made frequent trips to the desert state in recent months. At his most recent public meeting in Rajasthan, he made it clear that the BJP will not project a chief ministerial face for the polls.
“We have only one face, the lotus. People will ensure its victory with an overwhelming majority,” he said at the rally in Chittorgarh on October 2.
At the same rally, where he laid the foundation stone of various developmental projects worth Rs 7000 crore, the PM said that the development of Rajasthan is the biggest priority for the central government.
It was apparent that Modi wanted to convince the people about the benefits of having the same party, which was ruling at the centre, in power in the state.
The Prime Minister has attempted to make the election a choice between Modi and Gehlot by often attacking the chief minister. He made it a point to respond to Gehlot's dare to him that he should declare to the people of the state that the Congress government's schemes will not be stopped.
Modi said Gehlot had admitted defeat and knew that the countdown for the Congress' farewell had begun. He said when the BJP came to power in the state, it would not discontinue the schemes begun by the Gehlot government but improve upon them.
If the BJP's campaign is helmed by Modi, on the other side, Gehlot's public outreach is the main element of the Congress' electioneering at present. As he embarked on his Mission 2030 Jansampark Yatra recently, Gehlot took a jibe at Modi, commenting on the latter's frequent visits to Rajasthan.
Gehlot has over the past several months made an effort to build an image of a leader who cares for the welfare of the people. His government's welfare measures are at the centre of his public outreach. He has also positioned himself as a person rooted to the issues of the state in comparison to the prime minister, who he describes as a Delhi-based leader. He has often referred to Modi a Vishwaguru as against his own preoccupation with the state's issues.
The chief minister has asserted that he is a leader who has stuck to the issues of the state and will go to the polls on the basis of the work done by his government.
