Ashok Gehlot could be Congress’s dark horse

NEW DELHI: Fallen chief minister Ashok Gehlot still has high winnability quotient.

With Congress scrounging for every possible seat it can win in the state where it faces decimation, Gehlot has been mentioned as one of the rare winnable candidates in thWith Congress scrounging for every possible seat it can win in the state where it faces decimation, Gehlot has been mentioned as one of the rare winnable candidatese state party. However, he seems unwilling to pitch himself in the coming battle.

Sources said Gehlot's name figured briefly in the discussions at the central election committee meeting where it was mentioned that Union minister and royal Chandresh Kumari Katoch thought the former CM could be a good candidate from her constituency of Jodhpur.

Gehlot has been a multiple term MP from the seat and would be favoured by the strong presence of his Mali community as well as Muslims there. This could increase the party's winnability in the prestigious seat which is in the red zone for the Lok Sabha polls. Katoch wants to be shifted out.

The broad sweep of BJP's victory in the December elections has made Congress wary of its prospects in the state. The 25-seat Rajasthan has a history of swinging to extremes in every election. Congress and allies won 21 seats in 2009.

Sources said the leadership is not willing to oblige Katoch who has sought to be accommodated in her native Himachal Pradesh.

While this leaves the possibility of Katoch being dropped and Gehlot replacing her, the former CM does not seem agreeable to fighting the polls.