Ahead of the assembly polls in Gujarat slated for November this year, the Congress on Wednesday appointed former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as its general secretary in charge of the State.
He replaced Gurudas Kamat, who resigned from all party posts — general secretary and official in charge of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Rajasthan will go to the polls in end-2018.
Along with Mr. Gehlot, four new party secretaries have been appointed for Gujarat: former Youth Congress chief Rajeev Satav, Harshvardhan Sapkal, Varsha Gaikwad and Jeetu Patwari.
Party sources said Mr. Gehlot’s return as a general secretary, and that too as the in-charge of Gujarat, underscored the faith the party had in him. He had, they said, always been held in high regard for his organisational skills, which would be put to maximum test in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home State now.
However, the sources said, Mr. Gehlot’s move to Gujarat should not be read as an indication that he was no longer in contention as the party’s face in Rajasthan. Even though Sachin Pilot had done a good job as the Rajasthan PCC chief, the assessment of party colleagues was that the 65-year-old Mr Gehlot continued to enjoy wider support on the ground.
Kamat hails decision
Mr. Kamat, who has been battling his party colleagues in his native Maharashtra and had gone public on these differences after the Congress lost the State civic polls recently, met party vice-president Rahul Gandhi last week to tell him that he wished to be relieved of the party positions he held to concentrate on Maharashtra.
In a press note released on Wednesday, he welcomed the decision on Gujarat. “I had asked... Shri Rahul Gandhi to relieve me on 3rd February, the day Congress candidates were declared in Mumbai, and again requested him on 21st February, day of the polling in Mumbai. I followed it up... with a letter to Congress president after the Mumbai election results.”
Thereafter, he met Mr. Gandhi last Wednesday and asked “to be relieved from all responsibilities.”
He ended the note thanking Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Gandhi for giving him the opportunity to serve the party.
