Who is Gudha: Rajendra Gudha, a sacked minister in the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan has had a history of jumping ship from one party to another after registering victory in the Assembly elections. He has done this twice - in 2009 and in 2019.
Gudha was sacked on July 21 this year as a minister after he cornered his own government over the law and order and safety of women issue and asked the government to take a look at its own backyard before commenting on Manipur.
The sacked minister on Monday (July 24) levelled massive allegations on the Congress government and also alleged that he was “dragged” out of the state Assembly today by the Congress MLAs who allegedly attacked him.
Gudha’s history of flip flop
Beginning his political career in 2008 with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party which gave him a ticket in the Assembly polls, Gudha emerged victorious in his maiden run from the Udaipurwati seat. In his maiden poll outing, he secured 28,478 votes.
However, in a surprising move, he defected to Congress, along with five other BSP MLAs after his first victory. He was made the minister of state (MoS) for tourism by then chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
In 2013, he lost the Udaipurwati seat on a Congress ticket causing the party to revoke his ticket.
He won the seat back on a BSP ticket in 2018 and secured 59362 votes and again doing the flip flop defected to Congress, along with five other BSP MLAs, in September 2019.
He was again appointed as a minister in the Gehlot government before being sacked from his position this month for his remarks against the government in the Assembly.
Gudha switches camp from Gehlot to Pilot
He had backed Ashok Gehlot during the first rebellion in 2020, however, switched camps in 2022 when it appeared to him that the party might back Pilot in the future.
He was also booked in an abduction case earlier this year after which he openly pointed fingers at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who also holds the Home Department.
Gudha’s brother Ranveer Singh was elected to the Assembly before delimitation on a Lok Jan Shakti Party ticket from Gudha in 2003.
Rajendra Gudha was known for constant arm-twisting of the Ashok Gehlot government before he openly aligned with Pilot last year.
Making his position clear in the Gehlot-Pilot rift in 2022, Gudha had said, “Ashok Gehlot talks a lot that he has done this and that in the media, it would have been better if he had sat down more and thought over things.”
Ahead of the Congress presidential polls last year when Gehlot’s name emerged as one of the top contenders, Gudha had backed Pilot as CM.
“We decided that for Rajasthan, there is no candidate better Sachin Pilot. If Pilot is made the CM today, we will repeat the government in Rajasthan. The previous government was formed due to Sachin Pilot,” he said.
After ‘betrayal’, BSP says no more entry allowed
Bahujan Samaj Party’s state president Bhagwan Singh Baba has made it clear that the party will not take him back this time and will not give him a ticket as he has betrayed the party twice in 2008 and in 2019.
"We will not take him back under any circumstances. We gave him a ticket in 2008. However, Congress bought all our six MLAs. In 2013, he contested on the Congress ticket and lost the election. Later, when he requested the party to take him back. BSP gave him a ticket again in 2018 but he betrayed the party again.," Baba said.
(With agencies input)
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