NEW DELHI: The top of the pack is Ashok Gehlot, 75, desperate and all guns blazing. Is it the Delhi-Jaipur-Jodhpur heat, a denial of Rajya Sabha berth, or the Nehru-Gandhi family’s refusal to honour him with a sit-down, long conversation for the past three years, or the prospect of losing out on key AICC posts, ranging from the treasurer, general secretary in-charge of organisation, that has turned Gehlot into a motor-mouth over the last few days?
In Jaipur, Gehlot, on his own accord, tried giving a spin to an inglorious chapter when a lifelong Congressman in him stunned Sonia and the rest of the grand old party by refusing to convene a meeting of the Rajasthan Congress legislative party.
That was the time when Sonia had asked Gehlot to move to Delhi to take over as the 88th president of the AICC. Gehlot, sensing that arch-rival Sachin Pilot would be his successor, manipulated 92 party MLAs to defy the party high command’s decision.
On June 7, 2026, Gehlot rejected the claim that he had revolted against the Congress high command, adding that the MLAs were acting within internal party dynamics rather than opposing central leadership. He said that public perception was shaped by media narratives, which led to a misunderstanding of the situation.
Ashok Gehlot said he believed the situation was wrongly interpreted and even appeared like a planned conspiracy. “The situation that unfolded … I feel it was a conspiracy. AICC observers arrived suddenly, a spectacle ensued, and I ended up with a bad reputation,” he said.
Going by Gehlot’s outburst, it remains unclear who he is accusing of ‘conspiring’. Was it Rahul Gandhi, or AICC observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, or AICC general secretary in-charge of the party organisation, Mallikarjun Kharge?
Informed sources said more than the denial of a meeting with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Gehlot fears a return of Sachin Pilot as the state party chief in Rajasthan. If Pilot replaces Govind Singh Dotasra, who has completed nearly six years as the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) president, Pilot, 49, will be tipped to become Chief Minister in November-December 2028.
