New Delhi: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is ready to contest the elections for the post of Congress president but the leader had been a bit reluctant to give up his constitutional post, said sources.
According to sources, though the post of Congress president gives him a national role, Gehlot had preferred to remain chief minister, which not only makes him a key constitutional functionary but allows him to run an entire state independently. Also, the fact that he is one among the only two Congress chief ministers, makes his contribution to governance and party matters all the more significant.
Further, Gehlot wanted to complete his third chief ministerial term and ensure that the party returned to power in 2023, when the next assembly elections are due. That would have been his gift to party chief Sonia Gandhi and former chief Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress had lost the 2013 assembly polls to the BJP when Gehlot was a chief minister but he continued to enjoy a special place in the party system and remained a trusted aide of Sonia Gandhi.
Before losing the assembly polls, Gehlot hosted an AICC session at Jaipur in January when Rahul Gandhi was made the Congress vice president ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. For Gehlot, who always had his heart in Rajasthan, being chief minister was a far better prospect than leading the party nationally.
If Gehlot becomes party chief in the internal polls next month, the coming assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh would be an immediate test of his leadership.
In case of poll losses in the two states, Gehlot would naturally get the flak. More so, because he was made a special observer for Gujarat polls by Sonia Gandhi, a few months ago.
The reason why he was given charge of the western state was that he had supervised the 2017 Gujarat assembly polls also and had resources at his disposal to ensure a good Congress show at that time.
If Gehlot becomes party chief, he would have to face some key assembly polls like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka in 2023, which would be billed as a semi-final before the 2024 national elections.
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If Gehlot becomes the Congress chief, he would also have to restrengthen the party across the states within a short span of time and forge opposition unity to take on the ruling BJP in 2024. The Congress had lost the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and if the party’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is not as desired, Gehlot again would get the flak.
Coming back to Rajasthan, there is a possibility that if Gehlot shifts to Delhi, his rival Sachin Pilot may replace him as chief minister. Pilot, who had worked hard to resurrect the party in the state from 2014 to 2018, had expected to get the chief ministerial post but had to manage with only being a deputy chief minister.
According to sources, Gehlot is keen that in case he has to move to national politics, one of the loyalists gets the chief ministerial post rather than Pilot. That would allow Gehlot to have a say in state matters as well.
Gehlot is concerned that if Sachin becomes chief minister, the position of Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara may become unstable as Pilot would prefer to bring in someone from his own camp to head the state unit ahead of the 2023 assembly polls.
Also, if Pilot succeeds in breaking a trend in Rajasthan under which the voters change the ruling party every five years, Sachin’s position within the Congress would become stronger, something the Gehlot camp would never prefer.
It may be mentioned here that Gehlot was able to convince Sonia Gandhi in 2020 that Sachin is removed as deputy chief minister and state unit chief after Pilot led a rebellion against him.
While Pilot claimed he was not joining the BJP and was only flagging issues to strengthen the party in the state. He argued that his supporters had not been accommodated by the chief minister in the state power structure.
Yet, Gehlot succeeded in removing him from the two key posts. Later, Gehlot accommodated some of Sachin's loyalists in his cabinet to pacify the younger MLA when asked by Sonia Gandhi to do so.
A stronger Pilot is something that Gehlot would never want if he had control over the events, said the sources. Interestingly, Gehlot met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Wednesday as Pilot walked beside Rahul Gandhi in Ernakulam, Kerala in the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra.
On Thursday, Gehlot is expected to be in Kerala, where he would make a final plea before Rahul Gandhi and urge him to become the next party president.
In case Rahul remains reluctant to file his papers during nominations for the top party Sep 24 to 30, Gehlot would submit his candidature officially but his heart would still be in his home state Rajasthan.
