Great battles are won in the mind not on the battleground. Perhaps Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot doesn’t know this and seems to have accepted defeat even before the war has begun. This is evident from his utterances against his predecessor and arch-rival Vasundhara Raje of the BJP.
Yesterday, speaking at a rally held in response to Raje’s Suraaj Sankalp Yatra at Sri Karanpur in Shri Ganganagar in Northwestern Rajasthan, Gehlot compared himself to her and said, “Hamse to yeh latke jhatke nahin hote… Vasundhra Raje nai nai poshakein pehan kaar aap logon ke beech aa rahi hein.”
Meanwhile, nearly a thousand kilometers south of where Gehlot was speaking, a smiling Raje rode pillion on a motorcycle to visit a temple where her bus could not go.
She began her yatra from Charbhuja in Udaipur on April 4, drawing a response far in excess of what Gehlot’s hurriedly planned and scattered trips have received so far. This is despite the fact that most of Gehlot’s meetings are linked to inaugurations or laying of foundation stones thus making these official and involving government machinery.
Raje rarely attacks Gehlot personally. And far from Gehlot’s claim, she doesn’t change into local attire at all.
“What has happened to Gehlot? It seems he has already lost and that is why he is stooping so low with his utterances about her. And will he dare say why Sonia now, or Indira Gandhi then, would change into local attire?” Ajay Jain, a prominent lawyer based in Jaipur said.
Congress workers blame it all on Rahul Gandhi for asking for a counter yatra to spread the word about the government’s welfare schemes etc. Most political analysts were quite taken aback when Gehlot announced his yatra to counter Raje’s.
They said it was almost as if Gehlot was digging his own grave in a bit to get into a direct face-off with Raje which he was bound to lose.
It is a known fact that Gehlot is no competition for Raje’s colourful and charming personality and oratorial skills. That is why, at Karanpur, he admitted: “Mein to seedhe sade aapni baat keh deta hoon.”
Simply is the manner in which Raje has planned her 13,000-km-long yatra. Raje begins around 9 am every day from her halt at a local hotel. The bus, called a Rath, has a lift that she operates with a remote herself to take her to the top of the bus.
Inside the bus, are some basic necessities like a washroom, a two-seater sofa, a few chairs and a small table. It also has a television which is rarely switched on as she hardly gets time to go through the papers in her hand before the next halt.
There are garlands, BJP flags and welcome gates all around. She rarely makes any specific promises and refrains from condemning the government or Gehlot. Mostly, she tries to make it a personal interaction.
She smiles while making eye contact with bystanders, touches people warmly and rarely shows her anger at the organizers of her yatra for delaying her arrival everywhere. The same way Gehlot receives a turban or a garland, she is offered a chunri everywhere she goes.
Ever since his tenure began in December 2008, Gehlot kept Raje alive in the minds of the people of Rajasthan by attacking her almost daily. He could not hide his fear of Raje. His latest utterances show that he has lost to her in his mind. Raje has won the yatra war without even playing the mind game.
src: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rajasthan-ashok-gehlot-vasundhara-raje-yatra-wars-india-today/1/261608.html