The Magician Survivor of Rajasthan Politics

An organiser to the core, loyal to the grand old party, and ruthless to rivals, Ashok Gehlot’s political career is that of a clever survivor

When he was a young boy, Ashok Gehlot used to accompany his father’s sojourn across the country. Babu Laxman Singh Daksh was a famous magician. The young Gehlot would assist him in performing tricks before crowds. “I would have been a magician if I had never entered politics. I always loved social work and learning magic tricks,” Gehlot said later in an interview. He may have left behind magic when he joined politics and started rising through the ranks of the Congress party. But the three time chief minister of Rajasthan, who is fighting a rebellion within his own party led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot, has proved many times that one two tricks are always on his sleeves in times of crises.

Some say the current crisis is entirely his making. After becoming chief minister in 2018, Gehlot never made peace with Pilot. On the other hand, Pilot saw Gehlot as a usurper. When the Congress won three legislative elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in 2018, the party high command picked the state party chiefs of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to lead the governments. In Rajasthan, Pilot was the party president. But the high command chose Gehlot. Ever since, a Gehlot tried to consolidate more power and influence within the state party and the government. The clashes finally led the ambitious Pilot to revolt publicly.

Ready to fight

But unlike Kamal Nath, the Madhya Pradesh Congress politician whose government crumbled four months ago when Jyotiraditya Scindya walked out of the party with his supporters, Gehlot is ready to fight. He ensured that a vast majority of MLAs are still backing him. The Speaker of the House has gone after the 19 rebel MLAs, including Pilot. Gehlot also got the support of the Congress high command, which ousted Pilot as Deputy Chief Minister and state party chief. 

On Monday, Gehlot launched another broadside against Pilot, calling him “nikamma (“good for nothing”). “Gehlot is ruthless. He is not Kamal Nath. He’s a seasoned strategist. When he knows that his rival is down, he will launch an invasion,” said a young Congress leader in Delhi, who knows Gehlot closely. “The high command also knows this. Sachin can weaken the party or the government in the state. But Gehlot can destroy it,” said the leader.

Over the nearly five decades of his political career, both luck and opportunities blessed Gehlot many times. Born on May 3, 1951, Gehlot became active in politics in the 1970s when the party was controlled by Sanjay Gandhi. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met Gehlot in the early 1970s when he was working among refugees in the northeast after the Bangladesh war. In 1974, he was made the president of the Rajasthan unit of the NSU(I). A hard core organisation man, Gehlot, who hails from the backward Mali community, rose through the ranks fast. He first became the president of the Jodhpur Congress Committee and then general secretary of the state Congress committee. In 1985, he became the Rajasthan state president of the party, a position he would hold thrice.

In Power

In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him, by that time an MP from Jodhpur, Union Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation. When Rajiv Gandhi came to power after the 1984 election, Gehlot became the Minister of State for Civil Aviation. He was close to Rajiv.  He had independent charge of the Textiles Ministry in the Narasimha Rao government. But he didn’t complete the term in the Rao government. He moved back his work base to Rajasthan. 

The rise of Gehlot as a Rajasthan strongman started in 1998 when the party leadership chose him as chief minister after an emphatic victory. Known for his Gandhiyan lifestyle and simplicity, Gehlot has cultivated a loyal support base in Rajasthan, especially among the party’s second-rung leadership. 

But his career has seen ups and downs. In 2003, the Congress was thrashed in the elections and the blame was on Gehlot. But he would not retreat. He would stay in Rajasthan, focussing on rebuilding the party and campaigning against the BJP government. Five years later, the Congress would be voted back to power and Gehlot be made Chief Minister for a second time.

The Pilot Challenge

The 2013 assembly election was a watershed. The Congress suffered its worst defeat. It won only 21 seats out of 200. The party organisation was in shambles and workers’ morale was low. Nationally, the party was in decline, after almost 10 years in power, and Narendra Modi was on the rise. This was a perfect opening for Pilot — young, charismatic, and son of a famous father. He took the reins of the party and worked hard to rebuild it for five years. His efforts fructified in 2018 when the Congress party came back to power. But Gehlot emerged from the shadows once again. 

When Pilot was rebuilding the party in Rajasthan, Gehlot was busy working with the national leadership, strategising elections in other states. But he never allowed his focus on Rajasthan to slip away. “Gehlot’s brain was in Delhi. But his heart was in Rajasthan. He always wanted to make a comeback,” said the senior journalist in Delhi,who has covered Congress for two decades. 

After the 2018 elections, he had the support of most MLAs, and also some independents. He had the support of the high command. He’s cultivated strong ties both with the old guard and the young Turks of the Congress. “The high command cannot just abandon him. He knows that. The high command knows that. Sadly, Sachin did not know that. If he did, the current crisis wouldn’t have occurred,” said the journalist.

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