Last Updated: October 27, 2023, 08:30 IST
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot was on a two-day tour of Jodhpur on October 23-24 where he held as many as 40 public meetings. (File Image: News18)
Subsidised LPG cylinder, allowance to women, such schemes matter to Jodhpur, says Ashok Gehlot. Winning seats in Jodhpur is a matter of prestige for both CM and BJP stalwart Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who won against Gehlot’s son Vaibhav in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls
In Ashok Gehlot’s stronghold, Jodhpur, women are his strong votary for changing their fortunes. Sardarpura in the Blue City is not only rooting for its MLA Gehlot to be re-elected but also to become the chief minister once again.
“I used to buy medicines all my life. Now, after so many years, Ashok Gehlot has made sure that I don’t have to pay for any medicine. I can walk into a hospital and get free treatment. That is why, I will vote for him,” says Sunita, a Sardarpura local, on the ‘Chiranjeevi’ scheme of the Gehlot government.
Under the scheme, a medical insurance of Rs 25 lakh is being provided to all for free. Sunita also praises the government for providing LPG cylinder at Rs 500 for the last one year.
Gehlot was on a two-day tour of Jodhpur on October 23-24 where he held as many as 40 public meetings. In the last assembly elections, Congress won six out of the eight seats that fall in the Jodhpur district. But a few months later in 2019, Gehlot’s son Vaibhav lost the Lok Sabha polls in Jodhpur to BJP’s stalwart leader in Rajasthan, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. This was a big blow to Ashok Gehlot. Winning the seats in Jodhpur are a matter of prestige for both the CM and Shekhawat. It is not clear if Shekhawat will enter the assembly poll battle like seven other MPs of BJP who have got the ticket.
“Ashok Gehlot has worked a lot, he got an AIIMS to Jodhpur. He is very experienced, he should be the CM again,” said a couple of locals eating snacks near the Mehrangarh Fort, when asked if Gehlot should make way for Sachin Pilot as the CM if Congress gets another term. They further said from free education to giving free phones, Gehlot has done a lot. “100 units of electricity are free. What can the BJP offer? Nothing,” says another local.
But, not everybody is impressed with Gehlot. An old man, Rakesh Nath, told News18 that the CM may be a good person but under him 18 paper leaks happened. “The youngsters are very offended with Gehlot. They are also first-time voters who want to punish the CM at the polling booth for making them suffer. The contest in Sardarpura will be quite tough for Ashok Gehlot this time,” Nath said.
News18 was in Jodhpur on the day Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did a rally in the state and announced that besides LPG cylinder at Rs 500, the next Congress government in the state will also give Rs 10,000 a year to the woman head of every family in the state. Such announcements are making an impact in Rajasthan, especially Jodhpur. “People will vote for our schemes,” Gehlot told News18.
