Ritika
Jaipur9 hours agoAuthor: Sameer Sharma
Who will be the new president of Congress?
The answer to this question has almost been found. Although the official announcement has not been made, but Ashok Gehlot has clearly indicated that he is filing nominations. After 25 years, he will be the only non-Gandhi face who will become the President of Congress. Gehlot had earlier said in the legislature party meeting late Tuesday- I will try to convince Rahul Gandhi for the last time, if Rahul does not agree, then I will give trouble to you for the order of the high command. The indication was clear – he would file the nomination for the post of president.
After this, told the media in Delhi on Wednesday- If the people of the party want me, they feel that I am needed for the post of President or CM, then I cannot refuse. On the question of being the Chief Minister or not, he said- I would like to stay where the party is benefiting from my stay.
These 2 statements of Gehlot, which came within 12 hours, have made the picture quite clear. However, even before these statements of Gehlot, political pundits had claimed that if a non-Gandhi becomes president, then that name will be Ashok Gehlot.
But why Gehlot?
To know the answer to this question, Bhaskar did 360 degree analysis of every aspect related to the whole matter. Read the full report…
the ability to unite the opposition
Gehlot can fill the vacancy of Ahmed Patel, who is called Chanakya of National Congress. Ahmed Patel’s penetration was not only in the party, but also in other leaders of the opposition. Similarly, Ashok Gehlot also has good relations with all senior Congress leaders. He also has the ability to unite the opposition against the BJP because of his long political experience.
Attempts to topple the government failed
Gehlot has given evidence of being a skilled politician many times. So far all attempts to topple the government in Rajasthan have been thwarted.
the art of perceiving political crisis
Ability to handle political crisis. This is the reason that in order to strengthen the majority for two consecutive terms, the BSP MLAs were merged in the party itself.
forward in a scathing attack
To take on the BJP, hold on to the Hindi language, which is reflected in his statements against the Modi-Shah-Central government. Further in making a scathing attack on the basis of facts.
long political experience
2 times General Secretary, 3 times Union Minister, 3 times CM, 5 times MP, 5 times MLA and State Congress President’s experience. No one has that much experience.
Now the talk of those who are behind Gehlot in the race for the post of President…
Shashi Tharoor: Not connected to Hindi belt
Shashi Tharoor has also indicated to fill the nomination for the post of President. They come from South India, so there is no hold in the Hindi belt. Tharoor certainly has popularity among the workers, but in terms of experience, he lags far behind Gehlot. Tharoor’s most minus point is its association with G-23.
Kamal Nath: Government could not save in MP
In the year 2018 in Madhya Pradesh, Congress also formed the government and Kamal Nath became the CM, but when Jyotiraditya revolted, he could not stop his MLAs. The BJP was successful in toppling the government and Kamal Nath’s strategy proved to be a failure.
Bhupesh Baghel: No experience of national politics
Bhupesh Baghel never had any major interference in national politics. The experience has also been more in the State Congress organization. Lost the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in the Congress wave. There is a clean image and experience of being the Chief Minister, but the attitude of leadership is rarely seen at the national level.
Mukul Wasnik: Sonia’s displeasure with G-23
Wasnik’s name has been suggested by G-23 for the post of president, but this reason is also giving him a loss. The real reason for Sonia Gandhi’s displeasure with G-23 is that instead of speaking her words on the party platform, she is spreading it in the media.
Digvijay Singh: Will be universal, doubts on this
He has been the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh twice. He has been in the news a lot due to his controversial statements. The hold on the organization is good, have worked in many states, but before the India Jodo Yatra, there was some distance from the Gandhi family. At the national level, they will be universally accepted, there is little chance of it.
Their age is the biggest minus point
Former Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde: Age is around 82 years. Congress is looking for experienced and relatively younger faces.
Mallikarjun Kharge: Are 81 years old. At the same time, they are South Indians, while the Congress party has to strengthen its hold in North India. Must have command over Hindi also.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar: His age is also 78 years. Also, he is not known in today’s era as a necessary manipulative and quick-witted politician.
One big question…
Will Sachin Pilot become CM if Gehlot becomes president?
This is the question which is resonating the most in Rajasthan. Experts say that if Gehlot becomes the president, then Sachin Pilot is the only strong contender for the chief minister’s post in Rajasthan. If someone other than him is elected for the post of Chief Minister, then Congress workers will consider it unfair to Pilot. However, the path of Pilot to become CM is still not easy. In the Legislative Party meeting held a day earlier, Ashok Gehlot gave clear indications to everyone that even if he is elected as the Speaker, he will continue to be the CM. There is also a possibility that Gehlot may put forward the name of the person of his choice for the post of CM.
Rajasthan politics will revolve around these faces
Ashok Gehlot : Ashok Gehlot is ready to become the president, but does not want to leave the chief minister’s post either. Sources close to Gehlot said that if Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi ask him to step down as the chief minister, he may lobby for the face of his choice to become the CM instead of Sachin Pilot.
Sachin Pilot : The entire responsibility of putting Sachin Pilot on the post of Chief Minister will be on the high command. If Sonia-Rahul want, then Ashok Gehlot will leave the chief minister’s post. If the high command is not accepted even on the face of Gehlot, then Pilot is sure to get the chief minister’s post.
CP Joshi: CP Joshi’s name is also appearing in this entire scenario. One assessment is that if Gehlot does not remain the CM, then he can put forward the name of Speaker CP Joshi for the post of Chief Minister. Joshi is close to Gehlot and the high command. Also, all Congress MLAs can also remain united in his name.
Joshi was instrumental in making Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot as RCA President. RCA elections are coming up again and Joshi faction is working to get Vaibhav back. Here, the presence of CP Joshi during Gehlot’s latest visit to Jodhpur and being together in most of the programs also indicated that Joshi’s claim for the post of CM could be seen.
Shanti Dhariwal, BD Kalla, Govind Singh Dotasara will also be in the lead roles.
Shanti Dhariwal: Senior leader and has been playing the role of floor manager of Congress in the Vidhan Sabha. He had fiercely opposed the pilot and was associated with Gehlot from the very beginning. The bonding of both can also be recognized from the fact that Gehlot has said two-three times that the next government will come from Congress, I (Gehlot) will be the chief minister and Dhariwal will be given the UDH department. In such a situation it is clear that Dhariwal can play a big role in the politics of Rajasthan.
Govind Singh Dotasara: Along with the national president of the Congress, the high command has a plan to change the presidents in the state as well. In such a situation, there is a possibility of Dotasara going to the post of state president. Dotasara became the president two years ago on the advice of Gehlot during the political crisis. There is also a possibility that if Sachin Pilot is made the state president instead of the CM, the post of Dotasara will also go away. In such a situation, Dotasara can again join the cabinet. If Sachin becomes the CM, then Dotasara can be kept as the state president.
BD Kalla: There is a discussion going on in the political circles that a Brahmin may become the CM and Kalla may get a chance. But with a face like CP Joshi, it seems less likely. If the high command insists on a new face on the post of CM and Gehlot continues, then Joshi can be the face of CM. Only a miracle can bring about a change in Kalla’s condition.
When leaving the veterans, Sonia chose Gehlot for the post of CM
After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, when the non-experienced Sonia Gandhi, who entered the political arena, wanted the support of all the big leaders, many protested. These included senior leaders Sharad Pawar, PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar. At that time Gehlot stood by Sonia.
Being close to Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia also expressed full confidence in Gehlot. He became as much a confidant of Sonia Gandhi as Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Gehlot had started taking hold of the politics of Rajasthan instead of the center as told by Rajiv. Congress got a huge majority in the 1998 assembly elections. Sonia chose Ashok Gehlot from among veteran leaders like Parasram Maderna, Balram Jakhar, Natwar Singh, Buta Singh and took the Chief Minister’s post.
Decision after 3 days, but in favor of Gehlot
After the victory in the 2018 assembly elections, the high command had to choose either the then state Congress president Sachin Pilot or Ashok Gehlot for the chief minister’s post. After three days of effort, Gehlot was selected for the chief minister’s post as soon as Sonia Gandhi’s signal was received.
government saved in 2020
In 2020, when an angry Sachin Pilot was meeting Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi regarding his supporters MLAs. Then Ashok Gehlot got his supporters MLAs barricaded at Suryagarh Hotel in Jaisalmer. Sonia Gandhi sent Venugopal Rao and Randeep Surjewala to Jaisalmer. Both had one to one meeting with all the MLAs in the hotel. Then 75 percent of the MLAs had said that they were not with Gehlot or Pilot, but with the Congress party, gathered here only to save the government. This feedback was given to Sonia Gandhi. After this Gehlot was given a free hand back to run the government.
The consent of the Gandhi family is necessary otherwise the defeat is certain.
Whenever a non-Gandhi became the president of the Congress, it was only with the consent of the Gandhi family. Whoever tried to elevate himself to the post of President against the sentiments of the Gandhi family was defeated by the Congress voters.
Recently, Digvijay Singh said that if no one from the Gandhi family fills the nomination, then they can fill the nomination for the post of president. If the Gandhi family is not approved in Digvijay’s nomination, then history can be repeated again. There are many such interesting tales when veteran leaders also lost the elections.
In the year 1997, three veterans were in the fray for the post of Congress President. Sitaram Kesari, Sharad Panwar and Rajesh Pilot. The battle between the three is considered one of the most interesting anecdotes in the history of Congress. Then Sitaram Kesari defeated both Sharad Panwar and Rajesh Pilot by a huge margin. Kesari got 6,224 votes, but Panwar got 882 and Pilot got 354 votes.
Since independence, the Gandhi-Nehru family has dominated the Congress party. It is also true that elections have been held for the post of President only twice in 40 years. The election for the post of President of Congress was held in the year 2000. Then there was Jitendra Prasad in front of Sonia Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi got around 7448 votes, but Jitendra Prasad was reduced to 94 votes.
The Gandhi family never faced any challenge when Sonia Gandhi became the president in the year 2000. No one could challenge Rahul Gandhi even after becoming the president. Rahul Gandhi became the president from 2017 to 2019. Sonia Gandhi’s tenure lasted from 1998 to 2017. After the resignation of Rahul Gandhi in the year 2019, Sonia Gandhi once again became the interim president, who continues in this post till now.
Interesting anecdote: Indira gave a chance to 29-year-old Gehlot, who lost the election, Gehlot had to sell his motorcycle
Gehlot’s beginning with Indira Gandhi is very interesting. Due to the anti-incumbency wave due to Emergency, when no Congress leader wanted to contest elections. At that time, 26-year-old Ashok Gehlot easily got a ticket from Sardar Shahar seat of Jodhpur. In 1977, he lost the assembly elections and due to lack of money, he had to sell even his favorite motorcycle to meet the expenses of contesting the elections. Despite the election defeat, he came in the eyes of Indira Gandhi.
Now was the time for the 1980 Lok Sabha elections. Many senior leaders were opposing Indira Gandhi. In such a situation, Indira Gandhi thought of giving a chance to the youth. Then 29-year-old youth Ashok Gehlot was fielded by Indira Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections. Gehlot won these elections. This was the period of the rise of Ashok Gehlot. Indira Gandhi handed over the ministerial post at the Center to Ashok Gehlot, who became an MP for the first time. Gehlot was also in touch with Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi at that time and soon joined the trusted people of Gandhi family.
Rajiv Gandhi also extended and asked to meditate in Rajasthan
Indira Gandhi was assassinated in the year 1984. After this the Congress won a historic majority and Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister. Rajiv Gandhi also made Gehlot a part of his council of ministers. Due to good relations, Rajiv Gandhi asked Ashok Gehlot to focus on Rajasthan. When Rajiv Gandhi was also assassinated, Gehlot was also a minister in the government of PV Narasimha Rao.
read this also…
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If Gehlot becomes the President, 4 things are possible: Pilot can become Chief Minister or CM of Gehlot’s choice by giving him the post of State President
Why CM Gehlot is going from village to village
