Is the Congress now turning to Ashok Gehlot for some political magic for its national revival? Mr. Gehlot, 71, is expected to battle it out with Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor for the party’s top job in the coming presidential polls, but he is seen as the favourite to succeed Sonia Gandhi.
Born in a family of professional magicians in Jodhpur, Mr. Gehlot’s ability to outmanoeuvre his political rivals is quite legendary. Be it the recent Rajya Sabha elections, the rebellion against his government by his former deputy Sachin Pilot or handling the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, his political wizardry has been on full display.
In the case of the Rajya Sabha elections this June, the Congress had the numbers to comfortably win two seats but faced a tight contest for the third. The party was a few MLAs short of the majority mark and BJP-backed media baron Subash Chandra stepped up his campaign to make it a “close contest”. Mr. Gehlot not only ensured the win of all three nominees of the Congress, but also secured an extra vote from the BJP camp.
