Ahead of Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday invoked the faith the Gandhi family has imposed in him, recollecting that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi chose him thrice to head the government in the state. And in a remark made in lighter vein and yet which is significant, he said he wants to leave the chair but the chair does not let him go.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters in the national capital, Gehlot also rejected reports about differences between him and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot resulting in a delay in the declaration of the candidates for the coming elections. He said he was in fact a party to all the decisions being taken in favour of Pilot's favour in the selection process and had not objected to ticket being given to even one MLA who had sided with Pilot in his rebellion of 2020.
“The kind of faith that the high command has shown in me is rare. And it must be for a reason that Sonia Gandhi ji, Rahul Gandhi ji and Priyanka Gandhi ji have shown faith in me and that I was given a chance,” said Gehlot.
The Chief Minister was responding to a question on whether he will be the chief minister if the Congress wins the elections. Replying to the query, he recalled his interaction with a woman who had undergone a heart transplant as part of the state government's Chiranjeevi health scheme. He said he had told the woman that he wanted to leave the chief minister's chair, but the chair was not letting him go. “How many chief ministers have the courage to say that? Probably, the chair will not leave me,” he said.
The remarks are significant in view of the Congress's decision not to project a chief ministerial candidate in the elections in the backdrop of the tussle for power between Gehlot and Pilot. Gehlot said on a lighter note that it is better not be named a CM candidate in his party since the person who is so named never becomes the chief minister.
While differences between the two camps are said to have delayed the declaration of the party's candidates for the November 25 elections, Gehlot said he has in fact supported the candidature of MLAs who were Pilot's supporters. “The opposition has a problem because they have been denied the pleasure of witnessing fights in the Congress' selection process... I think you are referring to Sachin Pilot... But all decisions are being taken by consensus. I have been a part of decisions that are in his favour,” he said, also repeating his “forget and forgive” statement given in 2020 when the party high command had brought about a truce between him and Pilot.
With regard to questions over axing of a sizable number of MLAs, he said winnability was the only criterion for selection of candidates. He also denied there was any anti-incumbency against the party's MLAs. “It is said that there is anti-incumbency against the MLAs, that they are corrupt...But when efforts were made to topple my government, the MLAs were offered Rs ten crore. I will say it was touch and go for my government. Had the MLAs been corrupt, they would have accepted the Rs 10 crore offered to them. My government did not fall, so how are they corrupt?” he said.
Taking a swipe at the BJP and the apparent sidelining of his predecessor Vasundhara Raje, he said, “It is an internal issue of the BJP. But I will say this much, Vasundhara ji should not face any injustice because of me,” he said.