Sabotage claims have intensified factional tensions within Rajasthan Congress ahead of civic polls.
Dotasra’s remarks exposed growing friction between the Gehlot and party leadership camps.
Defeated candidates accused Congress colleagues of working against them during the 2023 polls.
Fresh allegations of internal sabotage and a public disagreement over personality-driven politics have exposed growing tensions within the Rajasthan Congress ahead of the state’s local body elections.
The latest dispute erupted at a Jaipur City Congress meeting, where several leaders accused party colleagues of working against official candidates during the 2023 Assembly election. It came days after state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra appeared to criticise former chief minister Ashok Gehlot over the induction of party workers at Gehlot’s residence instead of the Congress headquarters.
What Triggered The Latest Row?
The immediate flashpoint was a meeting organised to prepare for the upcoming panchayat and urban body elections. It was attended by Rajasthan Congress in-charge Poonam Paswan, former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, MLAs Amin Kagzi and Rafiq Khan, and Jaipur City Congress president Sunil Sharma.
Some leaders used the meeting to blame Congress colleagues for their defeat in the 2023 Assembly polls, according to party sources cited by The Indian Express.
RR Tiwari, the former Jaipur City Congress president who contested from Hawa Mahal, reportedly said that he had been defeated not by the BJP but by rivals within his own party. Tiwari lost to BJP candidate Balmukund Acharya by just 974 votes.
Tiwari later told reporters that he had not wanted to contest but entered the election on the directions of the party leadership.
“We made every preparation, and on the eve of polling day, some Congress leaders arranged for nearly 600 voters to travel to Ajmer for free in the name of visiting the Ajmer Dargah. I lost 600 votes,” he alleged.
He added that the Congress suffered more because of people within the party than because of the BJP or the RSS.
Malviya Nagar candidate Archana Sharma made similar allegations. Sharma, who lost to BJP’s Kali Charan Saraf by 35,494 votes, said she had to “fight more Congress leaders than BJP leaders during the elections”.
“Many Congress members sabotaged my campaign and supported my rival. They defamed me and worked against the party and me. I had to send a defamation notice,” Sharma told The Indian Express.
The accusations reportedly led to a heated exchange. Khachariyawas warned that leaders who had worked against official candidates would not receive tickets in the local body elections.
He later denied that the episode reflected serious cracks within the party.
“These kinds of tussles happen in every party. We are united and will contest the elections together,” he said.
Which Congress Factions Are Involved?
The sabotage allegations involve competing local groups in Jaipur, but the dispute is unfolding against the larger leadership rivalry involving Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and Govind Singh Dotasra.
The tensions became visible after former minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya returned to the Congress along with around 300 workers who had been associated with the Bharat Adivasi Party.
Instead of visiting the Congress headquarters, the group went to Gehlot’s residence, where the workers formally joined the party and raised slogans supporting him for another term as chief minister.
Dotasra appeared displeased that the induction took place at Gehlot’s bungalow rather than the party office. Without naming the former chief minister directly, he criticised individual-centric politics.
“If someone works to build their own brand, good luck to them. Govind Dotasra works for the Congress. As long as I am in the Congress, I will work for the party; I will not work to build any individual’s brand,” he said.
Dotasra also remarked that the Congress had suffered because of personality worship and suggested that leaders should examine their shortcomings when the party failed to return to power.
Malviya, who is considered close to Gehlot, denied violating party protocol. He said young workers had decided to meet the former chief minister and that he had merely accompanied them.
Gehlot has not commented publicly on Dotasra’s remarks. However, his loyalist and Kota North MLA Shanti Dhariwal defended him by describing Gehlot as the “high command in the state”.
Why Local Body Polls Matter Politically
The panchayat and urban body elections will be the Rajasthan Congress’s first major organisational test since its defeat in the 2023 Assembly election.
The polls will test the party’s booth-level network, local leadership and ability to mobilise workers while out of power. Control over municipalities and panchayats also gives political parties stronger grassroots networks ahead of future Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Ticket distribution is therefore likely to become another source of tension. Leaders who believe they were undermined in 2023 are demanding action, while senior figures have warned that rebels and those accused of helping rival candidates will be denied nominations.
The elections will also show whether the state leadership can enforce discipline across competing factions.
