Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday once again reiterated that he thinks of leaving the CM’s post, but this post is not leaving him. However, he emphasized that he will adhere to the decision of the party's central leadership. He was speaking at an event in Jaipur to mark the foundation of new Rajasthan districts.
'I should quit the CM's post'
“It comes to my mind that I should quit the CM's post but this post is not leaving me. I think before every word I speak. It has meaning," said the CM. "Whatever decision the high command takes is acceptable to me. It takes courage to say that I want to leave but this position is not allowing me to leave,” said Gehlot.
Gehlot, who has been engaged in a conflict with his former deputy Sachin Pilot for the top post since the Congress emerged victorious in the 2018 Assembly elections, seems to be positioning himself as the potential Chief Ministerial candidate for his party in the upcoming elections scheduled later this year. Meanwhile, the party's top leadership successfully mediated a resolution between Pilot and Gehlot a few weeks back.
This is the second time in recent days that Gehlot has made the post-not-leaving-me statement. Last week, he uttered this statement in response to a woman expressing her desire to that she wanted to see him continue as the chief minister.
Gehlot advocate for another term as CM
Gehlot further said he has been made the chief minister thrice by Sonia Gandhi, which is not a small thing. However, during his speech at the Jaipur event, Gehlot seemed to advocate for another term as Chief Minister if the party secures victory. He recalled his "vision" for the state in 2030 and highlighted that his efforts and the reforms he implemented have led to the emergence of a revitalized and more robust Rajasthan, reported news agency PTI.
"Why am I talking about 2030? I have worked in the fields of education, health, electricity, water and roads, so it is comes to mind why shouldn’t I move forward?” he said.
Last September, the party's high command had tried to get him to contest the organisational elections for the Congress president’s post. The high command called a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Jaipur, amid speculation that it would be a step towards replacing Gehlot with Pilot as the Congress-run state's chief minister.
But many Rajasthan Congress MLAs held a parallel meeting that day, indicating that they wanted Gehlot to remain the CM. Later, Pilot tried to corner Gehlot on the issues of recruitment exam paper leaks and corruption. But the central leadership intervened, managing to extract a show of unity from the two leaders.
