Desert Storm

Gehlot is on the back foot after the humiliation in the Lok Sabha polls, but he will not give in without a fight

- Soni Mishra

SOON AFTER he was appointed chief minister of Rajasthan in December last, Ashok Gehlot held a griha pravesh puja at 8, Civil Lines, Jaipur, the official residence. The Gehlots moved into the plush bungalow only on June 6, as the intervening period was marked by hectic electioneering for the Lok Sabha polls. The homecoming, however, has been anything but happy and peaceful for the veteran politician.

The Congress’s dismal show in the elections has deepened the existing divisions in the party, and Gehlot baiters have become more vocal. The party lost all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state. What was even more embarrassing for Gehlot was his son Vaibhav’s loss in his stronghold Jodhpur. At the Congress Working Committee meeting held on May 25 in Delhi, party president Rahul Gandhi reportedly criticised three senior leaders, including Gehlot, for having put their sons before the interests of the party.

Voices seeking that accountability be fixed were also heard in Jaipur, which included ministers Udailal Anjana and Ramesh Meena. Legislator Prithviraj Meena went to the extent of seeking a change of guard. He has been issued a show-cause notice by the party leadership.

Four ministers have gone public with their complaints against the ‘high-handedness’ of the bureaucracy, a thinly veiled attack on the chief minister. “I toured seven districts during the election campaign and found that bureaucrats were not paying heed to the issues raised by the Congress workers or the people. The bureaucrats are dominating the show in the state. This should come to an end,” said Ramesh Meena.