The possible recasting of the equation between a provincial heavyweight and the party headquarters is one of the more striking subtexts of Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s decision to pull out of the race for Congress president. Far more significant than the undermining of the high command’s writ is the fact that it is too weak to inflict serious costs on Gehlot for his shrewd, even audacious, move to cling to his turf in Jaipur.
In 1971, with Indira Gandhi’s popularity at its peak following the victory in the war against Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh, the prime minister was impressed by a young Ashok Gehlot’s volunteer work for refugees from the newly created country. He was drafted into the NSUI, the student wing of the Congress, which then dominated Indian politics. Almost five decades later, Gehlot is witness to the rapid decline in the electoral appeal of the Gandhi family and his party’s descent into a pale shadow of its former powerful self. At the same time, he is the chief minister of one of the only two states governed by the Congress, and the only large one. More significantly, the dwindling electoral appeal of the Gandhi family has meant he traces his current political standing to his own support base and leadership in Rajasthan.
