Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has sparked a major controversy, accusing the BJP of pursuing communal politics, and claiming that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would have banned the saffron party if she were alive today.
Speaking at a public event, Gehlot also called on all Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc, as well as regional parties that split from the Congress, to merge with the grand old party and “wholeheartedly accept” Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. National politics, he said, should be seen as a direct contest between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP reacted sharply, slamming Gehlot and the Congress, accusing it of retaining an “Emergency mindset”. At the same time, his comments also revived discussion about his strained equation with the Congress high command, particularly the Gandhis, following the 2022 episode that threw the party in a major political crisis in Rajasthan.
According to observers, this was Gehlot’s latest attempt to mend bridges and reinforce loyalty to Gandhis comes at a time when his standing within the party was on a shaky wicket and there were speculations over bête noire Sachin Pilot’s future role in Rajasthan Congress politics. “If the country has to be saved, if democracy has to be protected, then I must say that the atmosphere prevailing today is unlike anything I have witnessed in my 50 years of political life,” Gehlot said.
“I am saying with full responsibility that the situation is extremely dangerous. If the country does not wake up now, people will suffer the consequences later. Our younger generation will have no future, and the situation will become even more serious,” he added.
In 2022, amid the ongoing power tussle between him and arch rival Sachin Pilot for the post of the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Sonia Gandhi had chosen Gehlot for the post of the Congress president. However, MLAs considered loyal to Gehlot boycotted the CLP meeting called to pass a one-line resolution in the presence of two AICC observers and threatened mass resignations.
Coming as a major embarrassment to the party, the High Command viewed it as a serious act of indiscipline. The developments eventually paved the way for Mallikarjun Kharge to become the Congress president and Gehlot being sidelined from major decision making..
Analysts and rivals both believe that Gehlot has, since then, been trying to repair ties with the Gandhis. His defence of the Gandhi family’s legacy and public endorsement of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is a part of that effort.
Gehlot then claimed that MLAs openly supporting him and boycotting the CLP meeting was unprecedented but they were “furious at the prospects of him becoming the party president which meant there would be a new CM,” which made them “close ranks and not listen to anyone.” Later he described the 2022 episode as a “planned conspiracy orchestrated to tarnish his image before the party high command.”