CP Joshi, The Seasoned Congress Leader (Image: Facebook/Dr. C.P. Joshi)
Every vote matters. Nobody would understand this message better than Congress leader CP Joshi, the Speaker of the outgoing Rajasthan Assembly. In the 2008 Rajasthan Assembly elections, BJP candidate Kalyan Singh Chouhan defeated CP Joshi in the Nathdwara constituency by a single vote. When the results were declared, everyone was shocked, as the BJP candidate got 62,216 votes while the veteran Congress leader got 62,215 votes. Kalyan Singh Chouhan got elected as MLA with just one additional vote.
CP Joshi, who holds a doctorate in psychology and also a law degree, stepped into politics by becoming the president of the student union at Mohanlal Sukhadia University in 1973. Seven years later, CP got elected to the Rajasthan legislative assembly from Nathdwara. CP Joshi has represented the constituency five times since. Notably, the Congress leader was 29 when he became an MLA for the first time. In 2003, Congress gave him the responsibility to head the party’s state unit.
In 2008, while the Congress made an incredible victory by winning 100 seats in Rajasthan, CP Joshi lost the election from Nathdwara by the narrowest margin of one vote. It was a shocker for the Rajasthan Congress, as he was widely regarded as the Chief Minister candidate. The matter went to the court, but ultimately, the Congress leader lost the case in the Supreme Court. On that occasion, there were rumors that Ashok Gehlot campaigned against CP Joshi in a secretive manner. This is because Ashok Gehlot was also eyeing the CM post at that time.
CP Joshi contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 for the first time and won with a huge margin of 1,35,368 votes from Bhilwara. The veteran leader also served as the railway minister, transport minister, and rural development minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. In the 2018 Assembly election, CP Joshi won the Nathdwara seat in Rajsamand district with a margin of 16,940 votes. While CP Joshi earned 88,384 votes, BJP candidate Mahesh Pratap Singh was able to get only 71,444 votes. In January 2019, C P Joshi became the speaker of the 15th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
CP Joshi is the troubleshooter of Congress in Rajasthan, as he played a major role in 2020 when he saved the Ashok Gehlot government. Amid a severe crisis between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, Speaker CP Joshi issued notices to 19 Congress rebel lawmakers in the Rajasthan assembly, including Sachin Pilot. CP Joshi, who also served as the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, is again contesting from the Nathdwara seat in the 2023 Rajasthan polls. The BJP has assigned Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, a member of the erstwhile Mewar royal family, to compete against CP Joshi. While the Congress leader is eying for a sixth victory by highlighting the outgoing government”s welfare schemes, Vishvaraj Singh Mewar is banking on the BJP”s popularity in the region.
