Gehlot 'schemes' to turn the tide? Congress begins worker feedback program to retain Rajasthan

The Congress is banking upon its welfare schemes to ward off the anti-incumbency it faces in poll-bound Rajasthan. To assess the ground situation, the party has launched an exercise to collect feedback from its workers across the state. -- Reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: The Congress has started a state-wide worker feedback programme in poll-bound Rajasthan to assess the impact of the Ashok Gehlot government’s welfare schemes.

“We are going to the different assembly seats and taking feedback from the workers on the impact of the welfare schemes of the government. We are also asking the workers if they have any issues related to coordination within the party and with the state government,” AICC in charge of Rajasthan SS Randhawa told ETV Bharat.

According to Randhawa, he along with other AICC secretaries for Rajasthan Qazi Nizamuddin, Virendra Rathore and Amrita Dhawan and the senior state leaders, including PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara are travelling across the state to obtain such feedback given that dedicated workers form the backbone of the party and play a crucial role in the elections.

The coming assembly elections are going to be a challenge for the Gehlot government, which is banking on the welfare schemes to return to power. The previous Gehlot government from 2008-2013 too had implemented a lot of welfare schemes, including free medicines, but was still voted out.

In 2023, the Gehlot government is banking on a right to health law, free power up to 100 units and the LPG cylinders at Rs 500 to turn the tide in his favour. Before the government started special camps where residents are registering for the various welfare schemes, both Randhawa, Gehlot and Dotasara held one on one meetings with the various party MLAs and urged them to take the message to the voters.

“It is natural for any government to publicise its achievements. The Gehlot government would also do that. The chief minister is himself travelling to different parts of the state to supervise the camps. We are also visiting the camps,” AICC secretary in charge of Rajasthan Qazi Nizamuddin told ETV Bharat.

However, sources acknowledged that there is a concern within the AICC whether the party would be able to convert the beneficiaries of the welfare schemes into votes or not. “The workers’ feedback would let us understand how the welfare system impacts the voters. The long list of beneficiaries would help dilute the anti-incumbency but a lot of ground-level work will have to be done to ensure they go out and vote for the party,” said an AICC functionary.

According to sources, the workers’ feedback drive was started on the instructions of Rahul Gandhi, who had highlighted the importance of party workers when his Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through the state last year. Rahul had then asked the state ministers to spend some time walking on the lanes and by lanes along with the voters to get first-hand information about their issues and try to resolve the same. But that was not done.

Therefore, Randhawa had to deploy his three deputies Qazi, Rathore and Amrita in the districts allocated to them and had asked the AICC secretaries to spend time with the workers and motivate them to mobilize the voters at the booth level. “If our booth-level teams are charged up, it will not only help us during the coming assembly polls but also in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024,” an AICC functionary said.