Tag: Sachin Pilot vs Ashok Gehlot

As Pilot’s Conduct Earns Him Brownie Points, Gehlot Could Have to Come to a Compromise

Pilot has managed to maintain dignified silence in this tense period. Gehlot, on the other hand, has been vocal in his distrust and has called him names.

Jaipur: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot may have been the steady ‘winner’ of the month-long political showdown between him and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, however, not all seems to be well for him right now.

Making headlines, late on Monday, Pilot met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The Gandhis’ underlining Pilot’s rebellion as a “grievance” is what signals trouble for Gehlot as his former deputy returns to the city he left nearly a month ago.

During the political impasse between the two, Gehlot had lost his calm and gone to the extent of calling Pilot ‘nikamma’ (‘useless’) and ‘nakara’ (‘good for nothing’). Upon his insistence, Pilot was sacked from the positions of deputy chief minister of the state and chief of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC).

On the other hand, Pilot has managed to maintain dignified conduct during this tense period. From day one of the crisis, Pilot insisted that he would not leave the Congress party and claimed that his has no grudge against the party leadership. He even congratulated the newly appointed state Congress chief.

Also read: Ashok Gehlot vs Sachin Pilot: A Timeline of How the Rajasthan Crisis Unfolded

All this seems to have impressed the Gandhi family who then initiated the reconciliation with Pilot by sending senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal to speak to the Gehlot camp MLAs in Jaisalmer, making sure to send Gehlot back to Jaipur while the talks were taking place.

The party’s subsequent announcement of constituting a three-member committee to address the issues raised by Pilot and the other rebel MLAs of Rajasthan and arrive at an appropriate resolution, is indication that Gehlot might have lost his purported ‘image’ before the Gandhis.

Just as Gandhis’ talk with Pilot was officially announced by the Congress party on Monday night, Pilot tweeted a thank you note to Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi. However, Gehlot has been silent.

Political analysts in Rajasthan believe that the Gandhi family is not very happy with how Gehlot has been handling the crisis, and feel that he has been sending out an image of the party that is distinctly negative.

“Sachin Pilot has acted intelligently by not breaking the trust of the Gandhi family. It’s Gehlot who will now have to do the damage control,” said Rajendra Bora, a senior journalist and political analyst based in Jaipur.

The infighting within the Congress in Rajasthan has also highlighted the lack of capability in the senior leadership trusted with managing the state. This list of seniors includes Avinash Pandey, Randeep Surjewala and Ajay Maken, who seemingly failed in assessing the magnitude of the differences between Gehlot and Pilot.

“The Congress initially relied on Pandey, Surjewala and Maken to sort out the issues, but when they were also seen speaking in the tone of Gehlot, K.C. Venugopal was asked to intervene,” added Bora.

What now for Pilot?

While Pilot seems to have the upper hand at the moment, it remains to be seen if he will accept a position that the party would offer him in Rajasthan.

Pilot had held the ‘number two’ position in the state. With the comeback, he could well be looking for a more serious role.

There is already a new Rajasthan PCC chief in place who has replaced Pilot. The new appointee for this post, Govind Singh Dotasara, is a well known Gehlot loyalist and it is unlikely that Gehlot would let him go within few days of his appointment.

Also read: Rajasthan: Is a Compromise Between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in the Offing?

The party could reinstate Pilot as deputy chief minister, assuring him that due importance would be given to his office, however, it seems improbable that Pilot, who gave a hard time to Gehlot while putting his own career at risk, would agree to the same old role in the party.

Another option, as speculated, could be assigning Pilot a role in the Congress at the central level. However, that would mean disappointing senior leaders who would not be willing to compromise.

Even Pilot seems reluctant to leave his base in Rajasthan. In his tweet after meeting with the Gandhis on Monday, he has mentioned that he would work for the people of Rajasthan. He returned to Jaipur today, August 11.

Still on the edge after only barely saving its government from being toppled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress is at a critical juncture and not in a position to take away the chief minister’s post from Gehlot, who enjoys the support of far more MLAs than Pilot.

During the crisis, Gehlot had been quite vocal about his differences with Pilot – some would say, too vocal. In case the Congress high command decides to make Pilot the chief minister, Gehlot would definitely not sit and watch.

The 18 Pilot-camp MLAs who stood by him during the crisis are also eyeing more advantageous positions in what could be a cabinet reshuffle.

While Congress has already committed to look out for Pilot and other rebel MLAs, accommodating their demands would upset the Gehlot loyalists who are more than 80 in number. This is, again, a big problem for Gehlot.

Analysts believe that the way Pilot is handling himself, he is unlikely to immediately accept just any position from the party.

“Pilot must have realised that there will be no point in going back to the deputy chief minister’s office with Gehlot as the chief minister. His case has grown even stronger because he has not asked for a position yet,” said Bora.

Ashok Gehlot vs Sachin Pilot: A Timeline of How the Rajasthan Crisis Unfolded

With Sachin Pilot meeting Rahul Gandhi on Monday, the rebellion in Congress seems to have been put out.

Jaipur: The crisis in the Rajasthan assembly after Sachin Pilot’s rebellion has now extended into a second month. On July 10, the Rajasthan police had filed a case against two persons who were discussing Pilot’s ‘ambition’ to become chief minister. The next, the then deputy chief minister of Rajasthan flew to Delhi and declared his rebellion against the leadership of chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

The stage for the crisis is now set to shift to the Rajasthan assembly, with a session set to commence of August 14. The Gehlot government is likely to see a trust vote to prove it has the majority in the assembly.

In Rajasthan’s 200 MLA-strong assembly, the Congress has a total of 107 MLAs and the additional support of 13 independents. In addition, the Rashtriya Lok Dal’s sole MLA,  Subhash Garg, is a minister in Gehlot’s cabinet. The BJP has 72 MLAs and its smaller ally, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party of Hanuman Beniwal has 3.

If Pilot and 18 other MLAs withdraw their support to Gehlot during the trust vote, the government still has the numbers to prove its majority.

On Monday (August 10), Pilot met Rahul Gandhi and had a “frank, open and conclusive discussion”. AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal claimed that Pilot would continue to be a part of the Congress in Rajasthan, prompting speculation that the crisis would culminate.

The party also decided to constitute a three-member committee to address the issues raised by Pilot and the rebel MLAs to arrive at an appropriate resolution.

The Wire provides a detailed account of how the series of events unfolded.

Supreme Court Allows Rajasthan Speaker to Withdraw SLP Challenging HC Order

The speaker’s counsel informed the top court that the petition had become infructuous.

Jaipur: The Rajasthan assembly speaker C.P. Joshi withdrew his special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Rajasthan high court order passed on July 21 restraining him from “calling replies and conducting disqualification proceedings” against 19 rebel Congress MLAs, including Sachin Pilot.

Kapil Sibal informed the judges that because the apex court did not stay the HC order of July 21, as prayed in the SLP, the high court had proceeded to pass a detailed order on July 24.

“The July 21 HC order which is the subject matter of challenge in the SLP has ‘merged’ with the HC’s subsequent order of July 24, and therefore, this SLP has become infructuous,” Joshi’s counsel told Justices Arun Mishra, B.R. Gavai and Krishna Murari, who were hearing the matter.

The judges allowed the prayer to withdraw the SLP and Joshi may consider filing a fresh SLP and is “keeping all grounds open”, according to sources.

According to an Indian Express report, the Congress party’s leaders are divided on taking the legal route to quash Pilot’s rebellion. With chief minister Ashok Gehlot demanding the governor to commence an assembly session and hold a floor test, some leaders are of the view that the ‘fight has to be on the floor of the house’.

The report said that the dominant view in the party was that the high court’s July 24 order need not be challenged immediately in the top court.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra returned for the second time a file from the cabinet seeking to convene an assembly session. He sought ‘additional information and clarifications’, according to reports.

What the SLP said

In the SLP, Joshi had raised the following grounds before the apex court:

Since the speaker has not yet decided on the disqualification petition moved by the Gehlot government against the rebel MLAs, and had merely given them notice to submit their responses, the SLP stated that the prayers of these MLAs in their petition before the HC partake the clear character of quia timet (to restrain an action that has not yet commenced), which is “wholly impermissible.”

It further submitted that the notice was “only limited to inviting comments from the MLAs” and no adverse action had been initiated against them.

“Such a notice is not the final determination or decision on disqualification but only a commencement of the proceedings,” the SLP reads.

Citing the seven-judge bench decision of the Supreme Court in Pandit M.S.M. Sharma v. Sri Krishna Sinha, it added that a notice calling for response on disqualification cannot be subjected to judicial review, when the final decision of the speaker on disqualification itself is amenable to judicial review.

“No Court can go into those questions which are within the special jurisdiction of the Legislature itself, which has the power to conduct its own business,” the SC had held in Pandit M.S.M. Sharma.

It added that according to the scheme of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, even after the speaker passes the final order, there are limited grounds for the courts to interfere, such as, principles of
natural justice have been violated, order is malafide, patently perverse or alleged irregularity. “None of which applies in the present case as the disqualification petition is at a preliminary stage,” the petition states.

It said that the high court order is a “stay” on the powers of the speaker to adjudicate on a disqualification petition, granted under the Tenth Schedule.

Pointing out that the speaker is the persona designata under the Indian Constitution, having “exclusive, non-transferable, and non-delegable” powers to adjudicate on the matters concerning disqualification, the SLP further submitted that the rebel MLAs’ challenge to the constitutional validity of Para 2(1)(a), cannot be a ground for constricting the power of the speaker.

The petition submitted that the HC order be stayed to protect the dignity of constitutional authorities.

“The impugned order which is in (a)direct contravention Para 6(2) of the Tenth Schedule; and (b) direct contravention to the law laid down by this Hon’ble Court in para 109 and 110 of the Kihoto (supra) is liable to be immediately stayed so that the dignity of Constitutional authorities envisaged by the Constitution is protected,” reads the petition.

The SLP concluded that the Supreme Court has a duty to ensure that the all the constitutional authorities exercise their powers within their respective ‘Lakshman Rekha’ (boundaries) envisaged by the Constitution.

“Judiciary was never expected under the Tenth Schedule to interfere in the manner it has done in the instant case resulting in this constitutional impasse warranting the instant Special Leave Petition which is being filed with an urgent request to take up the matter at the earliest convenience,” mentions the SLP.

Ashok Gehlot Says ‘Useless’ Sachin Pilot ‘Conspired’ to Topple His Government

The chief minister’s choice of blunt words indicates that there is little chance now of a reconciliation between the two.

New Delhi: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday called Sachin Pilot useless, using the Hindi word nikamma in a no-holds-barred attack on his former deputy with whom he is locked in a power tussle.

Referring to the dissident leader’s tenure as the Pradesh Congress Committee president, Gehlot claimed that nobody raised questions for the sake of the party even when they knew that he didn’t work.

“We knew he is ‘nikamma‘ (useless), he is ‘nakara‘ (good for nothing) and not doing any work,” the chief minister told reporters, his choice of blunt words indicating that there is no chance now of a reconciliation between the two.

Gehlot did not mention Pilot by name, referring once to him as his young colleague and recalling that he had been given important posts by the party at an early age.

The chief minister claimed that Pilot used to say, “Did I come here to sell vegetables? I came here to become the chief minister.”

He said Rajasthan was the only state where there had been no demand to change the PCC president over the past seven years, suggesting that his deputy’s sacking was done to prevent trouble within the party.

Gehlot said he had previously talked about a conspiracy to topple his government, but nobody believed that somebody with an “innocent face” could be involved.

He repeated his remarks about Pilot having a good command over Hindi and English and an influence over the media across the country.

Gehlot accused Pilot of “backstabbing” the Congress, saying it was unfortunate that a PCC president had been trying to make his own party sink by colluding with the BJP.

Last week, Pilot and 18 other MLAs rebelled, defying a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. He was then sacked as the deputy chief minister and PCC chief.

Gehlot said it was unfortunate that Pilot was playing this game even after getting important assignments within 10 or 12 years.

Asked about the possibility of a floor test in the assembly, Gehlot said, “You know what is to happen. The high court’s decision will also come, the assembly will also function. All decisions will also be taken.”

He added, “Satyameva jayate (Truth alone triumphs).”

‘Offered Rs 35 crore’, says MLA

Giriraj Singh Malinga, a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA who joined the Congress last year, has alleged that Pilot offered him Rs 35 crore to switch to the BJP, claiming that he turned down the offer. Responding to these comments, Pilot said he was “saddened but not surprised to be at the receiving end of such baseless and vexatious allegations”.

“This is done solely to malign me and to stifle the legitimate concerns that I had raised against the party leadership of the state, as a member and MLA of INC. This attempt further aims at defaming me and attack my credibility,” the former deputy CM said.

“The narrative is being redirected to avoid addressing the main issue. I will be taking appropriate and strictest possible legal action against the MLA who was made to make these accusations. I am sure more such concocted allegations will be thrown at me to cause aspersions on my public image. But I shall be unfettered and remain firm in my beliefs and convictions,” Pilot said.

(With PTI inputs)

Ashok Gehlot Says Sachin Pilot Should Take Responsibility for His Son’s Defeat

The remark is seen as a reaction to the questions raised over Gehlot’s leadership after the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

Jaipur: Differences between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot have further intensified after the former held Pilot responsible for his son’s defeat in the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat.

The statement by Gehlot, during an interview with ABP News on Monday, is seen as reaction to the questions raised by some state ministers over his leadership. A week ago, Rahul Gandhi remarked during the Congress Working Committee meet that some senior party leaders, including Gehlot, put the interests of their sons above that of the party. It created a turmoil within the Rajasthan Congress, with some state ministers, MLAs and Lok Sabha candidates targeting Gehlot for the party’s loss in the state.

During the interview, Gehlot was asked whether Pilot had vouched for Vaibhav Gehlot in a party meeting over the Jodhpur seat. He replied, “If he [Sachin Pilot] has said this, then it is good. Now, tell me where are the differences between us, as projected by the media?” He continued, “But Pilot said Congress has six MLAs from Jodhpur, we had a fantastic campaign there and will record a historic win. Then, I understand that he should take the responsibility of at least that particular seat. He should analyse the reasons as to why we couldn’t win.”

Also Read: After Congress’s Lok Sabha Debacle, It’s Open Season for the Top Post in Rajasthan

When the interviewer asked him again if he thinks Pilot is responsible for the loss, he answered, “He [Sachin Pilot] said that we are getting a landslide victory from Jodhpur, and recommended his [Vaibhav Gehlot] name, but we lost all the 25 seats. When someone says it is the responsibility of any PCC president or chief minister, I understand it is a collective responsibility. Everybody is responsible, and party’s loss in all the states is beyond understanding, in itself.”

When The Wire contacted Sachin Pilot, he refused to make any comment. However, Gehlot clarified on Twitter that his reply in the interview was taken “out of context” by some sections of media.

In Gehlot’s support, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Congress’s in-charge of communications, tweeted, “Ashok Gehlot has clearly mentioned in the interview that it’s the collective responsibility of the government and the party but it seems that a part of the media has become so blind that it doesn’t understand anything expect praising BJP and criticising Congress.”

Most Rajasthan Congress MLAs The Wire spoke to refused to speak over this matter. Saleh Mohammad, MLA from Pokaran, a segment under the Jodhpur parliamentary seat, said, “I don’t know what exactly he [Ashok Gehlot] said. But the performance in elections can’t be the responsibility of any single person. CM, MLAs and party workers are all equally responsible for the defeat.”

Vaibhav Gehlot lost the Jodhpur seat to the Bhartiya Janta Party’s candidate Gajendra Singh Shekhawat by over 7,37,440 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Vaibhav could not win any of the eight segments of the Jodhpur parliamentary seat. In fact, in Ashok Gehlot’s own constituency Sardarpura, Vaibhav lost by around 18,827 votes.

In the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress registered a win in seven of the ten assembly seats in the district. It was confident of making a mark on this parliamentary seat. However, after it was reduced to a zero in the state for the second consecutive Lok Sabha election, there seems to be a never-ending blame game between the party’s top two in the state.

After Congress’s Lok Sabha Debacle, It’s Open Season for the Top Post in Rajasthan

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Ashok Gehlot favouring his son have created turmoil within the Rajasthan Congress and given fuel to Sachin Pilot loyalists.

Jaipur: After Congress president Rahul Gandhi lashed out at some senior leaders for putting the interests of their sons above that of the party at the Congress Working Committee meet on Saturday, the “settled” power equation in Rajasthan over the top post between the chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot has gone for a toss.

Some state ministers and Lok Sabha candidates have openly targeted Gehlot for the loss suffered by the party in the recent Lok Sabha polls. Perhaps not coincidentally, most of them are well-known Pilot loyalists.

The transport minister in the state, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who had put out statements against Gehlot to favour Pilot in the past, stated that if the Congress president finds fault with the senior leaders, he has the right to fix accountability and take corrective measures. Ramesh Meena, another minister from Karauli, Pilot’s stronghold in eastern Rajasthan, said that the defeat should be “introspected” and “accountability” fixed.

In a post on Facebook, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) secretary Sushil Asopa, a Pilot supporter, had written that Sachin Pilot should have been made the chief minister instead of Ashok Gehlot. He wrote, “Wherever you go in Rajasthan, you hear only one voice that the results of the Lok Sabha elections would have been different, had the party made Sachin Pilot chief minister as a reward for his hard work over five years.”

Also read: Despite Ruling the State, Rajasthan Congress No Match for BJP in Lok Sabha Polls

Campaign rally data highlighting how Gehlot neglected other seats and campaigned largely only in Jodhpur for his son Vaibhav Gehlot are being circulated and carried as the lead story in local dailies.

The data claim that out of the 130 campaign rallies and road shows led by Gehlot in the state, 93 were held in Jodhpur alone. However, data disclosed by Gehlot’s campaign team to The Wire are quite different. They say there were a total of 104 rallies that Gehlot took part in, spanning from March 14 to May 4, of which only 14 were held in Jodhpur.

Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. Credit: PTI

Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. Credit: PTI

As per party insiders, deputy chief minister Pilot is conspiring to compel Gehlot to step down as chief minister. He is urging his loyalists to speak out against Gehlot in the media and bring the party’s defeat in Jodhpur to the forefront.

“Sachin Pilot is making Vaibhav’s defeat a big issue for his own benefit. Even in 2014, when Pilot was the Rajasthan PCC chief, he himself lost the Ajmer Lok Sabha seat and the party couldn’t win a single seat. He holds two crucial posts in the state now – Rajasthan PCC chief and deputy chief minister – but is still putting the blame of the loss on the chief minister as if he is the sole person responsible for the performance of the entire party,” a senior official in the party said on the condition of anonymity.

While media reports on the resignation of agriculture minister Lalchand Kataria have surfaced, there has been no official confirmation from the governor’s office. The party official who spoke to The Wire said that hype is being created around this to create an impression of a fragile government in the state to the central leadership.

On social media, too handles like “Sachin Pilot for CM” and “Gujjar news Rajasthan” are making personal attacks against Ashok Gehlot, suggesting that making Gehlot the chief minister led to the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi’s Big Failure Was to Not Promote Fresh Faces in the Congress

Congress’s Lok Sabha candidate from the Jaipur seat, Jyoti Khandelwal, also wrote to Rahul Gandhi asking for introspection on the lethargic attitude of booth-level workers. “I’ve written to Congress president Rahul Gandhi to use my allegations on the Jaipur seat as a pilot project and investigate what went wrong within the party. I’m sure if he’ll seek answers to questions like why the party workers were not present near the polling booths on voting day, we’ll be able to understand that the problem lies within the party and not outside,” Khandelwal told The Wire.

She has also accused party spokesperson Archana Sharma, who is close to the Gehlot camp, of not working efficiently in her segment during the elections. “I can even present a video as proof, where Sharma’s husband can be seen saying that he will put in all efforts to make the BJP candidate win the Jaipur seat,” she added.

This is the second consecutive time that the Congress has been reduced to zero seats in the Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan. This time, though, targeted accusations have led to turmoil within the state unit.

Gehlot to Helm Rajasthan, Pilot to Be Deputy CM After Rahul Plays Peacekeeper

Pilot will also continue to head the Rajasthan Congress.

New Delhi: The power tussle within the Congress on whether Ashok Gehlot or Sachin Pilot would be appointed as Rajasthan chief minister came to an end on Friday with Gehlot being handed the reins of the state for the third time.

Pilot has agreed to become the deputy chief minister and will continue to head the Rajasthan Congress after party president Rahul Gandhi effectively played peacekeeper between the two factions.

It is being said that after two hectic days of negotiations, Gandhi worked out the arrangement between the two top Congress leaders of the state. As many as ten legislators seen as close to Pilot are also likely to get ministerial berths in Gehlot’s cabinet. This also paves the way for Pilot’s leadership in the future.

After the meeting, the Congress president tweeted a photo of the three with the caption, “The united colours of Rajasthan!”

Gandhi met the two leaders separately thrice since Thursday. There have been hectic discussions between top party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on the selection of chief ministers for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Also read: Congress Looks All Set to Form Government in Rajasthan

Senior party leaders K.C. Venugopal, Avinash Pande and Jitendra Singh were also present during the meeting Friday.

In the recently held assembly election, ending the rule of the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly – just one seat short of the halfway mark. with 99 of the 199 seats that the counting was held for. The BJP picked up 73 seats and the BSP six.

Pilot and Gehlot won from Tonk and Sardarpura respectively.

“As far as who will become the chief minister is concerned, go to Rahul Gandhi because it is a decision that will be taken collectively,” said Gehlot had said after the Congress won the election.

Also read: What Brought the Fall of Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan?

Speaking to the media on December 12, Pilot had said the state’s newly-elected legislators have left it to Gandhi to choose the chief minister. And that the MLAs communicated this to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) representatives – Venugopal and Pandey – who had met them in Jaipur.

Raje resigned as chief minister on Tuesday, December 11.

Last year, when the 67-year-old Gehlot was brought to Delhi as the party’s general secretary and made in-charge of “organisation and training,” many believed the move had been made by Gandhi to clear the way for Pilot, who had then been given charge of the Rajasthan Congress.

However, when the campaign for the state elections kicked off, Gehlot was frequently seen in Rajasthan. In one instance, he ran into a controversy when he proclaimed himself as the chief ministerial candidate. “Aap hi ke saamne khada hai (He is standing in front of you),” he had told reporters when asked who would be the chief minister if the Congress wins.

But the AICC did not take too well to the statement as the party, unlike the BJP which had projected Vasundhara Raje as its face, had not declared a chief ministerial candidate.

(With inputs form PTI)

Congress Chooses Ashok Gehlot Over Sachin Pilot to Be Rajasthan Chief Minister

Pilot will be the deputy chief minister.

New Delhi: Ashok Gehlot is likely to be the next chief minister of Rajasthan. According to Congress sources, NDTV reported, the party’s general secretary, who is known as a seasoned leader and has a reputation of keeping the flock together, will take over the chief minister’s mantle for the third time in the state.

Reportedly, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, the state Congress head who was in the chief ministerial race, on Thursday morning. The party is expected to announce his decision in the evening.

It is being said that after two hectic days of negotiations, Rahul Gandhi worked out the arrangement between the two top Congress leaders of the state. As many as 10 legislators seen as close to Pilot are also likely to get ministerial berths in Gehlot’s cabinet. This also paves the way for Pilot’s leadership in the future.

Also read: Ashok Gehlot: The Magician in Rajasthan Congress

Speaking to the media on December 12, Pilot said the state’s newly-elected legislators have left it to Gandhi to choose the chief minister. And that the MLAs communicated this to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) representatives – K.C.Venugopal and Avinash Pandey – who had met them in Jaipur.

Last year, when the 67-year-old Gehlot was brought to Delhi as the party’s general secretary and made in-charge of “Organisation and Training,” many said that Gandhi to clear the way for Pilot, who was then given the charge of Rajasthan Congress.

However, since the campaign for the state elections kicked off, Gehlot was frequently seen in Rajasthan. In one instance, he ran into a controversy when he proclaimed himself as the chief ministerial candidate. “Aap hi ke saamne khada hai (He is standing in front of you),” he had told reporters when asked who would be the chief minister if the Congress wins.

Sachin Pilot . Credit: PTI

His statement was not received very well at the AICC as, unlike the BJP, which had projected Vasundhara Raje as its leader, the party had not declared a chief ministerial candidate.

However, the scales tipped in his favour probably because the Congress’s victory was not as emphatic as it had hoped. With 99 legislators, the AICC believes Gehlot’s experience and acceptance among the state unit will be more useful than Pilot’s apparent energy and discipline.  

Gehlot has had two terms in the chief minister’s office – from 1998 to 2003 and then from 2008 to 2013. He is also seen as a leader with wider acceptance than Pilot among the state’s multiple backward caste groups. Many of these groups are inimical to each other. It is often said that Gehlot uses his humour and political skills to efficiently address their interests. He is also seen as an accessible leader.

Pilot, sources say, will continue to play an important role in consolidating the Congress unit of the state and remain the most visible face ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Ashok Gehlot: The Magician in Rajasthan Congress

Many in the Congress think that if the party scores a close victory in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot would be Rahul’s first preference as chief ministerial candidate.

Bliss was in that dawn to be alive
But to be young was very heaven.

– William Wordsworth

Ashok Gehlot got a lucky break in the Congress during early 1970s when Indira Gandhi’s son, Sanjay, was calling the shots. Sanjay was promoting another Gehlot, Janardhan, a wrester who had humbled a mighty Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in 1972 from Gandhi Nagar in Jaipur. As luck would have it, Sanjay lost affection for giant killer Janardhan Gehlot, a Kshatriya, and his cronies quickly replaced him with another Gehlot from the Mali (gardener) community. Ashok was made National Student Union of India (NSUI) head of Rajasthan in a very special way when a biker carried his letter of appointment from Delhi to Jaipur.

Hailing from a magician’s family, Ashok Gehlot was initially called a “gilli billi” in Sanjay Congress circles. He was affable, deeply religious and practised several Gandhian ways of life. A teetotaler, Gehlot believes in eating only satvik meal and avoids eating anything after sunset till dawn.

Not much is known about one of the most powerful men in Rahul Gandhi’s Congress today except that Gehlot’s father, Babu Laxman Singh Daksh, was a famous magician who travelled across the country to perform. In his childhood days, Ashok too travelled with his father as an assistant and performed tricks, leaving spectators rather spellbound. A few years ago, Ashok had told an interviewer, “I would have been a magician if I had never entered politics. I always loved social work and learning magic tricks. In future, too, I might not get a chance to become a magician, but magic is still in my soul.” Though he does not admit it, Ashok is said to have performed magic tricks before a young Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in the presence of Indira Gandhi.

Some feel the credit of spotting Ashok Gehlot should be given to Indira as she was one of first to have met him in the North Eastern region engulfed by huge refugee problem. Gehlot, then 20, was invited to join politics by none other than the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He attended an AICC session in Indore, where he also met Sanjay Gandhi. Since then, there has been no looking back.

At the Indore session, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi was elected Youth Congress president and would remain the only elected Youth Congress chief. This was an era when Indira and Sanjay wanted the Youth Congress to take on the Right-wing Jan Sangh and its allied organisations. This was also a golden age of grooming young leaders in the Congress. Sanjay, otherwise criticised for his haughtiness and acting as an extra constitutional authority throughout the 21-month long Emergency, set up leadership factory in the party, producing a range of party leaders who called the shots in the grand old party throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Some of them, like Ashok, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya, Ambika Soni, Vyalar Ravi, A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik B.K. Hariprasad are still around.

Ashok Gehlot could be Rahul Gandhi’s preference for chief ministerial candidate if Congress to power in Rajasthan. Credit: Facebook/Ashok Gehlot

Under Sanjay, these leaders were given multiple tasks such as slum demolition, family planning, adult literacy drive, each-one-plant-one tree environmental scheme, anti-dowry campaign, to getting physical with government employees. It was Sanjay’s idea of “Hands-on-Governance”, where Youth Congress leaders and workers were directed to publicly beat up errant bureaucrats. There were many instances of overenthusiastic and arrogant Youth Congress leaders taking out shoes on government servants.

Gehlot, however, remained low keyed in Rajasthan and Delhi until Rajiv Gandhi entered the political scene after Sanjay’s death. Rajiv recommended him as a junior minister in Indira’s council of ministers. Pitted against the mighty Haridev Joshi and Shiv Charan Mathur, Ashok became Rajiv’s eyes and ears in Rajasthan. Political grapevine has it that Ashok had played a pivotal role in Joshi’s sacking as chief minister of Rajasthan when Rajiv decided to hold a cabinet meeting inside the Sariska National Park, 170 km from the national capital. As per Rajiv’s instructions, state ministers were not supposed to use official cars to meet Rajiv. Rajiv was himself driving an SUV which was reportedly signalled by a local traffic constable to turn right, instead of going straight. The seemingly innocent error (some claim to be magician Ashok’s handiwork) proved costly for Joshi as the diversion led to a spot where hundreds of official cars belonging to state ministers, officials etc.) were parked. Rajasthan was undergoing severe drought then, and Rajiv, battling on many fronts, had tried to send a signal of austerity.

Rajiv’s public rebuke did not did not go down well with Joshi, who sulked and boycotted a lunch. The absence of host chief minister was noticed by Joshi’s friend, P.V. Narasimha Rao, then HRD minister in Rajiv’s cabinet. Rao’s attempts to act as a peacemaker proved futile; within a month, Joshi was replaced by Mathur.

Around this time, Gehlot was in Delhi, heading the tourism ministry. His earlier stint as a junior minister in civil aviation had given him a profile of sorts as he followed Rajiv’s vision to the hilt. Many laurels followed. Gehlot was credited with setting up the Delhi Haat opposite the INA market that continues to serve as an ethnic bazaar bringing artisans and their handicrafts from all over the country in direct contact with buyers. His tenure as union minister in charge of textiles under P.V. Narasimha Rao was considered memorable for having put many innovative ideas into practice.

Sachin Pilot (in picture) is expected to accord all importance to his contender and two-time chief minister, Ashok Gehlot. Credit: PTI

His proximity to Rajiv Gandhi perhaps helped Gehlot strike a rapport with Sonia and subsequently with Rahul, who has so far been striking a fine balance between his buddy Sachin Pilot (currently head of Rajasthan Congress) and Gehlot, an uncle-like figure. Rahul’s presence ensures that Ashok does not perform any gilli-billi trick to upstage Sachin; at the same time, Sachin is expected to accord all importance to two-time chief minister. There is no dearth of Congressmen who think that if the Congress scores a narrow-margin victory in Rajasthan, Gehlot would be Rahul’s first preference as chief minister.

Gehlot’s simplicity and easy manners have helped him grow immensely. At one point, Ashok would not occupy a chair before party bigwigs like Ahmad Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad. Today, he is at par with them and is perhaps as powerful an office-bearer at 24, Akbar Road. For a majority of party leaders and colleagues, Gehlot has remained a man of good intentions who retained common touch with friends despite walking the corridors of power in Delhi and Jaipur.

At his home town, Jodhpur, Gehlot’s idea of relaxation is to sit outside a PCO and do gupshup with all and sundry. The seasoned politician has an ability to laugh at himself. Once he had murmured something to a youth, which sounded something like “tamatar khao” while what he meant was “kama kar khao.” When this joke was narrated to Gehlot, he had a hearty laugh.

Rasheed Kidwai is a visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. His upcoming book “Neta Abhineta – Star power in Indian Politics (Hachette ) has gone to press.