Ashok Gehlot, who was lauded for his role in Congress’s victory in Punjab state elections, pinned this ‘enormous’ success on his ‘rich political experience’. According to former Rajasthan CM, he served as a PCC chief for Congress thrice in 14 years and claimed the chief ministerial position in Rajasthan twice. This clearly enriched his political experience over the years. Though we know that the real reason behind Congress’s victory in Punjab was public’s growing resentment towards SAD-BJP government in state, but Gehlot couldn’t help but brag that his experience proved fruitful when screening candidates for Punjab assembly elections.
Gehlot’s remark made quite a scene in inner party circles, especially among young leaders who brushed it off as a stint to confirm his claim for the chief ministerial position in Rajasthan against party’s new darling Sachin Pilot.
Ever since India’s biggest national party suffered fatal blows in 2013 Lok Sabha elections, the ongoing supremacy tussles between the senior and junior wing within the party was quite evident. By the time state elections were organised in 5 major states of India, the INC was divided into two different camps—the ‘old’ and the ‘young’, based on their affiliations with the party high command. While the oldies were favoured by Congress chieftain Sonia Gandhi, INC vice president Rahul Gandhi welcomed fresh faces into his camp. In time, the members from both the wings zealously tried to prove their worth before the party high command and Gehlot was no different.
After Congress lost to BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, Rahul Gandhi hinted that perhaps it’s the time for structural and organisational changes in the party. Agreeing with Gandhi, Gehlot preached that, it’s essential for both the senior and the junior wing to walk hand-in-hand. Taking a dig at Sachin Pilot, who is being projected as the new CM contender by Rajasthan Congress, Gehlot said that it’s the old who’ll make way for the new.
After Gehlot ‘served’ the party for 14 long years, did he become the CM of Rajasthan and that’s how the trend should continue all over the country. This clearly highlights his insecurity against Pilot, who’s getting popular among the Congressis. Now that Congress has sidelined Gehlot by dispensing him to Punjab, he can’t help but voice his discontent in public. Perhaps his experience is the only way by which he can convince the party leaders that he’s still the potential contender for Rajasthan Assembly elections. But the irony is that the public doesn’t think so!
