Ashok Gehlot the new stalwart of Rajasthan politics

JAIPUR: The showdown with Sachin Pilot has placed chief minister Ashok Gehlot in the league of stalwarts of Rajasthan politics —Congress’s Mohanlal Sukhadia, the state’s longest serving CM (1954-71) and BJP’s Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a three-time CM (between 1977 and 1998).
Like Sukhadia and Shekhawat, Gehlot has emerged as not only a mass leader, but also one who can effectively crush rebellion in his own ranks. Like them, he too rose, competing with bigwigs both within his own party and the rival political outfit. If Sukhadia became CM at the age of 38, Gehlot was a Union minister when he was 31. If Shekhawat quelled rebellion to save his coalition government in 1996, Gehlot is poised to do the same now having clipped Pilot within Congress.

Interestingly, the legislator who played a key role in the unsuccessful revolt against the Shekhawat-government is among the 19 Congress MLAs in the Pilot camp right now. A seven-term MLA from Churu’s Sardarshahar seat, Bhanwarlal Sharma is an old fox of politics hopping from Congress to BJP to Janata Dal and back to Congress. Sharma, Deependra Singh Shekhawat and Hemaram Chaudhary are senior leaders who have currently sided with Pilot. Sources said Gehlot knows how to win them back if it comes to BJP demanding a floor test in the state assembly. Considering the numbers in Pilot camp, that, however, looks a far cry.

Pilot is not the only Congressman who has vied with Gehlot for the CM post. Before him, CP Joshi had said he was not Gehlot’s follower but a collaborator. Joshi, the current assembly speaker, was then the PCC chief. In the 2008 state elections, he was a favourite for the CM post owing to his proximity to Rahul Gandhi. Joshi missed the bus, having lost the election by a single vote. Many still believe it was ‘magician’ Gehlot’s tricks. But that was not new for Gehlot, who had survived a similar challenge from Jat stalwart Parasram Maderna in 1998.

A quintessential politician, Gehlot has been a trouble-shooter for the Gandhi family too. In 1998-99, when the family faced rebellion within the Congress, Gehlot stood by Sonia Gandhi. From the assembly elections of Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka in 2017-18 and Maharashtra last year, Gehlot has emerged as one of the chief trouble-shooters for Congress. Time and again, the Congress leadership has believed in Gehlot’s experience and ability in crisis management. His politics of springing up magical surprises in the nick of time got him followers across India and admirers across parties.
And the fate that Pilot has met for his risk taking against this survivor of all times, has sent a chilling fear among the state leaders who would now never like to fall out of Gehlot’s favour.