Everyone has his or her own way of looking at Congress’ Lok Sabha debacle in Rajasthan. The Central leadership has already shown a glimpse of its displeasure in CWC meeting held in Delhi after poll results over CM Ashok Gehlot’s lackadaisical handling of the polls and missing out the opportunity.

 

There are sections in the party that believe that Gehlot started his tenure on a bad note by overlooking the need to overhaul administrative structure of the State from top to bottom.

 

The Central leadership has been examining all possible reasons for the abysmal performance of Gehlot Govt. Among other things the continuance of former CM Vasundhara Raje’s confidante Devendra Bhushan Gupta (IAS:1983:RJ) as Chief Secretary has reportedly invited the ire of the top leadership of the Congress.

 

Party higher ups are at a loss and unable to make out as to what constrained Gehlot from overhauling the top structure of executive arms of State machinery. They wonder, how could the CM expect to tone up the administration and ensure delivery of services with the top official from the earlier regime?

 

What is being questioned is also how did it prove beneficial for the Gehlot Govt to include senior retired civil servants, Arvind Mayaram (Retd IAS) and Govind Sharma (Retd IAS), as advisers in the CMO? Political sources cite Punjab as an example which earned big dividends for the Congress in LS Polls by winning 09 out of 13 seats under the leadership CM Captain Amrinder Singh.    

 

If some well placed political sources are to be believed Congress’ Central leadership may gradually escalate pressure on Gehlot to go for administrative reshuffle at senior level in view of the party’s wipe out in the Lok Sabha polls.