It is a blessing in disguise if a few quit Congress: Rajasthan CM Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was in the state capital on Thursday, said he did not see any reason to worry if a few leaders quit the party and join the BJP.

Addressing the mediapersons, he said, "It is a blessing in disguise if a few leaders quit the party, new faces will get an opportunity to rise in the cadre."

He was reacting to the question of some Congress leaders and workers abandoning the party to join the BJP or others. In the last one decade at least 40 Congress leaders and sitting MLAs have quit the party and joined the BJP. A few of them were accommodated in the state government. In 2020-21, eight MLAs were renominated on the BJP symbol in bypolls and got elected to the Assembly.

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Citing his personal experience, Gehlot said, "When Indira Gandhi was defeated in 1977, people used to say this party will never come to power, then I was with the NSUI. Some quit the party, I did not because I believed in the party. See today I am the Chief Minister of a state today. If you believe in a party, stay loyal in bad times, time rewards you."

Gehlot launched the party's digital campaign and also flagged off rath yatras that will move across the state and collect people's views, which can help in making the district and state level manifestos of the party.

Speaking on the current lumpy virus situation, Gehlot said now it has spread in four to five states and considering the situation, "I demand that the Central government should declare it a national pandemic and give assistance to the state to handle the situation."

He cleverly avoided questions on pre or post alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party. He said he was confident that the party will perform better this time, because people are tired with inflation, privatisation of education and poor health and other infrastructure in the state.