ID :
35493
Sat, 12/13/2008 - 18:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/35493
The shortlink copeid
Gehlot sworn in as Rajasthan Chief Minister
Jaipur, Dec 13 (PTI) Ashok Gehlot, who spearheaded the
Congress campaign and brought it back to power in assembly
elections in India's northern state of Rajasthan, was Saturday
sworn in as Chief Minister for a second term in office.
57-year-old Gehlot, who was the Chief Minister between
1998 and 2003, was sworn in at a public ceremony in front of a
large number of Congressmen by Governor S K Singh. He was the
only one to take oath Saturday.
Gehlot, who brings vast political and administrative
experience to the job, also as a former Indian Union Minister
and grassroots worker beat rival claims in the party with his
clean image and on the basis of the seasoned campaign in the
elections.
His election on Thursday as Congress legislative party
leader was preceded by intense jockeying for power by rival
faction chiefs, including on caste line that some one from the
Jat community should be given the top political job.
C P Joshi, the party's state unit President who lost by
one vote in Nathdwara constituency, was also in the race apart
from senior leaders like Union Minister Sis Ram Ola and
Parasram Maderna, both Jats.
There were also ugly scenes of clashes between supporters
of Gehlot and Ola in front of the guest house where the
central observers, including Digvijay Singh, were staying.
Gehlot's "unanimous" election came at the end of a
five-hour long process in which the observers held
consultations individually with the newly elected MLAs (Member
of Legislative Assembly). The observers later got in touch
with Indian Congress President Sonia Gandhi who cleared his
name.
There have been reports that a Deputy Chief Minister from
the Jat community could be appointed to placate their
feelings.
Out of power since 2003 in the state, the party had made
Gehlot the General Secretary at the All India Congress
Committee (AICC) and gave him charge of India's capital city
of Delhi where there was serious dissension against Chief
Minister Shiela Dikshit.
Gehlot, who belongs to the backward 'mali' (gardener)
community, is a hard-core organisation man. Between 1974 and
1979, he was President of the Rajasthan unit of National
Students' Union of India (NSUI) and rose steadily as President
of Jodhpur Congress Committee and then General Secretary of
the PCC. He became the Pradesh Congress Chief (PCC) President
thrice in 1985, 1994 and 1997.
In 1980, he was elected to Lok Sabha for the first
time from Jodhpur and re-elected four more times. He became a
Union Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in the
Indira Gandhi government in 1982. After the 1984 elections, he
became the Minister of State for Civil Aviation when Rajiv
Gandhi was prime minister.
Gehlot held independent charge of the Textiles Ministry
in the P V Narasimha Rao government which came to power 1991.
He has been a member of various Parliamentary committees
including that of Public Accounts Committee.
In the recent assembly elections, he won from Sardarpura
constituency. PTI VSC
NIK
Congress campaign and brought it back to power in assembly
elections in India's northern state of Rajasthan, was Saturday
sworn in as Chief Minister for a second term in office.
57-year-old Gehlot, who was the Chief Minister between
1998 and 2003, was sworn in at a public ceremony in front of a
large number of Congressmen by Governor S K Singh. He was the
only one to take oath Saturday.
Gehlot, who brings vast political and administrative
experience to the job, also as a former Indian Union Minister
and grassroots worker beat rival claims in the party with his
clean image and on the basis of the seasoned campaign in the
elections.
His election on Thursday as Congress legislative party
leader was preceded by intense jockeying for power by rival
faction chiefs, including on caste line that some one from the
Jat community should be given the top political job.
C P Joshi, the party's state unit President who lost by
one vote in Nathdwara constituency, was also in the race apart
from senior leaders like Union Minister Sis Ram Ola and
Parasram Maderna, both Jats.
There were also ugly scenes of clashes between supporters
of Gehlot and Ola in front of the guest house where the
central observers, including Digvijay Singh, were staying.
Gehlot's "unanimous" election came at the end of a
five-hour long process in which the observers held
consultations individually with the newly elected MLAs (Member
of Legislative Assembly). The observers later got in touch
with Indian Congress President Sonia Gandhi who cleared his
name.
There have been reports that a Deputy Chief Minister from
the Jat community could be appointed to placate their
feelings.
Out of power since 2003 in the state, the party had made
Gehlot the General Secretary at the All India Congress
Committee (AICC) and gave him charge of India's capital city
of Delhi where there was serious dissension against Chief
Minister Shiela Dikshit.
Gehlot, who belongs to the backward 'mali' (gardener)
community, is a hard-core organisation man. Between 1974 and
1979, he was President of the Rajasthan unit of National
Students' Union of India (NSUI) and rose steadily as President
of Jodhpur Congress Committee and then General Secretary of
the PCC. He became the Pradesh Congress Chief (PCC) President
thrice in 1985, 1994 and 1997.
In 1980, he was elected to Lok Sabha for the first
time from Jodhpur and re-elected four more times. He became a
Union Deputy Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in the
Indira Gandhi government in 1982. After the 1984 elections, he
became the Minister of State for Civil Aviation when Rajiv
Gandhi was prime minister.
Gehlot held independent charge of the Textiles Ministry
in the P V Narasimha Rao government which came to power 1991.
He has been a member of various Parliamentary committees
including that of Public Accounts Committee.
In the recent assembly elections, he won from Sardarpura
constituency. PTI VSC
NIK
