Elections are 'not beauty contest', says Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File Pic

Elections are not a beauty contest and the Congress party has most of the times refrained from naming the chief ministerial candidate before elections as it believes it is a contest among parties, their ideologies and manifestos, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Monday.

Replying to queries at a press conference on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he also played down the power tussle involving Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, saying there is no political fight in Rajasthan and only some differences.

Asked if the Congress can go for a woman chief ministerial candidate in Rajasthan in the next election, he said, "It is possible. Our priority is that Congress should win. Elections in our country, in our political system, I am sorry I will use a word, they are not a beauty contest between personalities.

"Our elections are among parties and are fought on ideologies, manifestos and symbols of parties. Who will become the chief minister is known only after the elections. Barring one or two times, the Congress party has 99 per cent of the time not announced any chief ministerial candidate because we believe that it is a contest among parties."

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Ramesh said that the Congress wants that the mandate should be for the party and not one individual. When a reporter referred to the tussle in Himachal Pradesh for the CM's post and asked about the internal fight in Congress in Rajasthan, Ramesh retorted, "There is no woman involved in the political fight in Rajasthan. One thing is that there is no fight, there are some differences. Rahul Ji has said both (leaders) are assets."

Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh had staked claim to the CM's post after the party's victory but the high command had picked Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu for the post.

Ramesh said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has had a positive effect on the politics in Rajasthan and referred to the recent meetings between Gehlot and Pilot.

Without naming Gehlot and Pilot, Ramesh said that "both are assets to the party" and Rahul Gandhi too had reiterated it.

"One is senior, experienced and the other is young, popular and highly energetic and both are needed by the party," he said.

'I understand after the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the meeting that Ashokji held yesterday (with Sachin), which I noticed, it should be clear that the effect of this Yatra is positive in the context of politics in Rajasthan," Ramesh said.

"Both (Gehlot and Sachin ) have different experiences and capacities, both were with Rahulji in Shimla yesterday... there is a new spirit... Congress has united," he said.

The Yatra has been an educational experience and has instilled new energy and enthusiasm, he said, adding the organisation needs to think about how to reap the benefits from this.

The Rahul Gandhi-led Yatra started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and has so far covered the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and then traversed through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan is the only Congress-ruled state where the yatra has entered and will cover about 500 km over 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21. It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February 2023, covering 3,570 km in 150 days.

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