Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday filed his nomination papers for the Assembly election as a candidate from Jodhpur’s Sardarpura seat, which he has been winning since 1998. Mr. Gehlot’s wife Sunita Gehlot and son Vaibhav accompanied him when he handed over his papers to the Returning Officer.
At a ‘Congress guarantee dialogue’ organised after the filing of nomination, Mr. Gehlot said the ruling party would come back to power on the strength of its works and policies as well as the promises and guarantees for the next tenure. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also addressed the rally.
Mr. Gehlot accused the Central investigating agencies of unleashing a “reign of terror” in the Opposition-ruled States and said it amounted to misuse of powers. “This is going to be a big issue during the election campaign. People in the remote villages and hamlets are becoming aware [of it],” he said, adding that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent raids in Rajasthan were wrong and malicious.
Mr. Kharge said the BJP government at the Centre had adopted a practice of sending the teams of ED, Income Tax and the CBI to the places where Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes for election campaign. There was a clear intention to harass the Congress leaders in the poll-bound States, he said.
‘Flawed policies’
Taking a jibe at Mr. Modi, Mr. Kharge said only talks and slogans would not achieve anything, as the people needed food, education and jobs. The rich were becoming richer and the poor poorer in the BJP’s rule because of its flawed policies, he said.
The Congress president said the Prime Minister was thinking of the poor now only because of the elections. Though the BJP had often accused the Congress of looting the country, it was they who had looted the people and extended benefits to rich industrialists, he said.
“The people should have got 19 crore jobs by now, as the Prime Minister had promised to create two crore jobs every year. The BJP has in fact snatched jobs which could have been created in railways, banks, post offices and other departments. The institutions built by the Congress have been sold to Ambani, Adani and others,” Mr. Kharge said.
Mr. Kharge said the welfare schemes of the Congress government in Rajasthan had benefited all sections of the population and the people were willing to give their overwhelming support to the party. The Congress would march ahead despite the BJP’s ploys to mislead the people, he said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot filed his nomination papers for the upcoming State Assembly elections from Sardarpura seat of Jodhpur district on Monday.
Sardarpura is seen as a Congress stronghold with Mr. Gehlot winning from the seat in all elections since 1998. He received 63% votes in the 2018 Assembly elections.
The Chief Minister's wife Sunita Gehlot and son Vaibhav Gehlot accompanied him when he filed his nomination papers. Before filing his nomination, the CM took his sister's blessings.
A public meeting is also scheduled on Monday at Umaid Singh Stadium in Jaipur in which party president Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to participate.
