New Delhi/Jaipur: On Wednesday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held COVID-19 responsible for the party’s loss in the panchayat polls, saying the outcomes were not as per the Congress’ expectation.
Gehlot said in a statement: “The results of the district council and panchayat polls are not as per our expectation. For the previous nine months, our government was involved in COVID management and our priority was to save lives and livelihoods of the people.”
He added: “Due to coronavirus, we could not publicize our works while the opposition misled the people. But we will give a befitting response to the opposition, considering the feedback from the public.”
In a significant setback to the Congress in Rajasthan, the opposition BJP took 1,911 seats in the recently conducted panchayat Samiti elections while the ruling party was restricted to 1,781 seats. The Independents gained 425 seats, the CPI-M took 16 seats while the Bahujan Samaj Party gained 3 seats in the elections while the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party got 57 seats, as per the State Election Commission.
Gehlot had attacked his detractors in the party while inaugurating a Congress office in the Sirohi region no long ago, saying the state government was saved from a crisis as the senior chiefs suspended the rebels inside the party fold.
He additionally accused the opposition BJP of restarting the “Game of Thrones” once again to topple his government.
The rebel heads he was aiming at include former Pradesh Congress Committee chief and ex-Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and his loyalists Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, who was suspended and dismissed as state ministers after Pilot alongside 18 MLAs went to Manesar in an open rebellion to the Gehlot administration. The central initiative of the party went into a damage control mode at that point to figure out the matter before things ran wild.
Congress’ Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken gave a statement not long after Gehlot’s remarks in Sirohi, saying that Pilot was an asset for the party other than guaranteeing that the government was safe.
