Ashok Gehlot

Ashok Gehlot
Ashok Gehlot
14th Chief Minister of Rajasthan
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 17 December 2018
Governor	Kalyan Singh; Kalraj Mishra
Preceded by	Vasundhara Raje
	In office; 13 December 2008 – 12 December 2013
Governor	Margaret Alva; Shivraj Patil; Shilendra Kumar Singh
Preceded by	Vasundhara Raje
Succeeded by	Vasundhara Raje
	In office; 1 December 1998 – 8 December 2003
Governor	Navrang Lal Tibrewal; Nirmal Chandra Jain; Kailashpati Mishra
Preceded by	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Succeeded by	Vasundhara Raje
Governor	Incumbent
Additional ministries
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 17 December 2018
Governor	Kalyan Singh; Kalraj Mishra
Ministry and Departments	Finance; Taxation; Home & Justice; DOP; GAD; Cabinet Secretariat; NRI; IT & Communication; Rajasthan State Investigation Bureau; DIPR;
Preceded by	Vasundhara Raje
Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1999
Preceded by	Man Singh Deora
Constituency	Sardarpura
General Secretary (Organisation) of ; AICC
	In office; December 2017 – January 2019
Succeeded by	K. C. Venugopal
Union Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation
	In office; 31 December 1984 – 26 September 1985
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi / Rajiv Gandhi
Deputy Union Minister for Sports
	In office; 7 February 1984 – 31 October 1984
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Textiles
	In office; 21 June 1991 – 18 January 1993
Prime Minister	P. V. Narasimha Rao
Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha
	In office; 1991–1999
Constituency	Jodhpur
	In office; 1980–1989
Constituency	Jodhpur
Personal details
Born	3 May 1951 (age 70); Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Sunita Gehlot
Children	2

Ashok Gehlot (born 3 May 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan.^[3] He held this position from December 1998 to 2003, and from 2008 to 2013, and again from 17 December 2018.^[1]

He is former Congress Party's national general secretary and in-charge of organisations and training from March 2018 to 23 January 2019.^[4] He represents Sardarpura constituency of Jodhpur as Member of Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan.

Personal life[]

Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot with the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar at the Chief Ministers’ Conference on Internal Security, in New Delhi on 16 April 2012.

Ashok Gehlot, son of Babu Laxman Singh Gehlot a magician who used to travel around the country to show his magic tricks.^[5] Gehlot came from a humble family background with no connection in politics. He is a science and law graduate, he also holds an MA degree in economics. He is married to Sunita Gehlot and has a son and a daughter.^[1] His son Vaibhav Gehlot is a politician who contested in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 from Jodhpur.^[6]

He is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. He was influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi at a very young age and was actively engaged in social political work even as a student. During the East Bengali refugees crisis in 1971, he served in the refugee camps in the eastern states of India. It is there when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi first identified his organizational skills during one of her visits to the refugee camps. Gehlot was later appointed the first State President of National Students' Union of India and successfully organised Congress's Student Wing in the state.^[7] Gehlot is a staunch Gandhiite and he lived in Wardha to adapt his lifestyle as a Gandhiite. He eats before sunset and is a pure vegetarian and enjoys Satvik Meals. He is also a teetotaler.^[5]

Political career[]

Sonia Gandhi and Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, launching the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), at Banswara, Rajasthan

He contested his first election for Rajasthan Legislative assembly in 1977 for Sardarpura constituency and lost by a margin of 4426 votes to his closest opponent Madhav Singh of the Janata Party. Gehlot had to sell his motorcycle to contest his first election. In 1980 he contested Lok Sabha election from Jodhpur and won by a margin of 52,519 votes. In 1984 he was appointed as the Union Minister. In 1989 he lost the election from Jodhpur.^[8]

When the Congress party returned to power in 1991 he was appointed as Union Minister again by then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. He was discharged from his duty in 1993 and headed towards his home state Rajasthan to manage Congress political affairs. In 1998, Congress won a landslide victory by winning 153 out of 200 seats. Ashok Gehlot was appointed as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the first time.^[8]

In 2003, Congress lost Rajasthan and won merely 56 seats. In 2008 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election Congress was short of a majority by 4 seats and Gehlot who was a well-known troubleshooter in Congress was appointed as the Chief Minister to prevent instability and thus he was sworn in for the second time as Chief Minister.^[9]

Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot meeting the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Jyotiraditya Scindia, in New Delhi on 8 January 2013.

In 2013, Congress suffered its worst-ever defeat by only winning 21 seats in 200 member assembly. Gehlot was then appointed as AICC General Secretary in 2013.^[10] He managed Congress National Affairs. He remained at the position till 2018 and after 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, when Congress returned to power he was appointed as the Chief Minister for the third time despite the strong candidacy of Sachin Pilot due to his role in the revival of Congress after its worst-ever defeat in Legislative Elections. Ashok Gehlot was appointed due to his experience in administration. He is also known as a tough administrator. Sachin Pilot was appointed as Deputy Chief Minister.^[11]

On 14 July 2020, Sachin Pilot was sacked from his Cabinet and PCC President of Rajasthan due to enmity between the ranks of the Congress Party in Rajasthan.

Positions held[]

Year	Position^[12]
1980–84	Elected to the 7th Lok Sabha Member – Public Accounts Committee 1980–82 Deputy Minister for Tourism 1982–84 Deputy Minister for Civil Aviation 1982–83 Deputy Minister for Sports 1984–84
1984–89	Elected to the 8th Lok Sabha Deputy Minister for Tourism 1984–85 Deputy Minister for Civil Aviation 1984–85
1991–96	Elected to the 10th Lok Sabha Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Textiles 1991–93 Member – Consultative Committee on Communication 1991–96 Member – Standing Committee on Railway 1991–96
1996–98	Elected to the 11th Lok Sabha Member – Standing Committee on Railway 1996–98 Member – Consultative Committee on Communication 1996–98
1998–99	Elected to the 12th Lok Sabha
1999–2003	Member, Eleventh Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Elected in by-election) Chief Minister, Rajasthan
2003–08	Member, Twelfth Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
2008–13	Member, Thirteenth Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Chief Minister, Rajasthan
2013–18	Member, Fourteenth Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
2018–Cont.	Member, Fifteenth Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Chief Minister, Rajasthan

Other positions held[]

Year	Position^[7]
1974–79	President, Rajasthan NSUI
1979–82	President, City District Congress Committee, Jodhpur
1982	General Secretary, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee
1985–89	President, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee
1994–97
1997–99
2004–08	General Secretary, All India Congress Committee
2017–2019	General Secretary, All India Congress Committee

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Chief Minister, Rajasthan". Rajassembly.nic.in. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
^ "अशोक गहलोत के जन्मदिन पर समर्थकों ने किया शक्ति प्रदर्शन". Dainik Jagaran (in Hindi). 4 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
^ "Sachin Pilot vs Ashok Gehlot: Your guide to Rajasthan political crisis in 10 points". India Today. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^ PTI (26 April 2017). "Ashok Gehlot Appointed Congress General Secretary In-Charge For Gujarat". NDTV. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b Kidwai, Rashid. "Ashok Gehlot: The Magician in Rajasthan Congress". thewire. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
^ Siddiqui, Imran Ahmed. "moochh-ki-ladai-gehlots-son-in-prestige-fight". Retrieved 17 July 2020. The biggest factor, however, remains the caste arithmetic. The BJP is banking on the support of the Rajputs, the dominant caste in Jodhpur, Brahmins and Jats. Gehlot is eyeing the OBC votes, especially the Mali community to which he belongs, as well as Muslims and SC/STs.
^ ^a ^b PTI (11 December 2008). "Ashok Gehlot-the man who rose from the ashes". Rediff. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Ashok gehlot :political career". Election.in. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
^ Tewari, Ruhi (8 December 2008). "Congress comes up tops in Rajasthan with 96 seats". Mint. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
^ Parihar, Rohit (8 December 2013). "Rajasthan: BJP's win is the biggest ever for any party, Congress's loss is the worst". Indiatoday. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
^ "Ashok Gehlot sworn in as Rajasthan chief minister, Sachin Pilot as deputy CM". The Times of India. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
^ Goswami, Rakesh (14 December 2018). "Ashok Gehlot: The low-profile leader who plays political magic". HindustanTimes. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

External links[]

Ashok Gehlot on Twitter
Interview to rediff.com in 1999

Lok Sabha
Preceded by	Member of Parliament for Jodhpur 1980–1989	Succeeded by Jaswant Singh
Preceded by Jaswant Singh	Member of Parliament for Jodhpur 1991–1999	Succeeded by Jaswant Singh Bishnoi
Political offices
Preceded by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat	Chief Minister of Rajasthan 1 December 1998 – 8 December 2003	Succeeded by Vasundhara Raje Scindia
Preceded by Vasundhara Raje Scindia	Chief Minister of Rajasthan 12 December 2008 – 13 December 2013	Succeeded by Vasundhara Raje Scindia
Preceded by Vasundhara Raje Scindia	Chief Minister of Rajasthan 17 December 2018 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent

[bio-1] "Chief Minister, Rajasthan". Rajassembly.nic.in. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

[2] "अशोक गहलोत के जन्मदिन पर समर्थकों ने किया शक्ति प्रदर्शन". Dainik Jagaran (in Hindi). 4 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

[3] "Sachin Pilot vs Ashok Gehlot: Your guide to Rajasthan political crisis in 10 points". India Today. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

[4] PTI (26 April 2017). "Ashok Gehlot Appointed Congress General Secretary In-Charge For Gujarat". NDTV. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

[Kidwai-5] Kidwai, Rashid. "Ashok Gehlot: The Magician in Rajasthan Congress". thewire. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

[6] Siddiqui, Imran Ahmed. "moochh-ki-ladai-gehlots-son-in-prestige-fight". Retrieved 17 July 2020. The biggest factor, however, remains the caste arithmetic. The BJP is banking on the support of the Rajputs, the dominant caste in Jodhpur, Brahmins and Jats. Gehlot is eyeing the OBC votes, especially the Mali community to which he belongs, as well as Muslims and SC/STs.

[other_posts-7] PTI (11 December 2008). "Ashok Gehlot-the man who rose from the ashes". Rediff. Retrieved 19 February 2021.

[career-8] "Ashok gehlot :political career". Election.in. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

[9] Tewari, Ruhi (8 December 2008). "Congress comes up tops in Rajasthan with 96 seats". Mint. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

[10] Parihar, Rohit (8 December 2013). "Rajasthan: BJP's win is the biggest ever for any party, Congress's loss is the worst". Indiatoday. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

[11] "Ashok Gehlot sworn in as Rajasthan chief minister, Sachin Pilot as deputy CM". The Times of India. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2020.

[12] Goswami, Rakesh (14 December 2018). "Ashok Gehlot: The low-profile leader who plays political magic". HindustanTimes. Retrieved 17 July 2020.

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