Veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has resurfaced a four-year-old dispute, alleging a "big conspiracy" within the party prevented his elevation to national president, a position now held by Mallikarjun Kharge, and his statement is interpreted as an attempt to gain the attention of the Gandhi family amidst ongoing discussions about reshuffling key party roles like general secretaries and in-charges, which are becoming vacant due to appointments as state unit presidents, ministers, or resignations. Gehlot, who has not been able to secure appointments with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for months, expressed surprise at the perception that he refused the presidency, asserting he would not have refused such an offer and suggesting observers Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge's sudden arrival in Rajasthan in 2022, during the intended handover of the Chief Minister's post to Sachin Pilot, led to his defamation. This resurfacing of old tensions, particularly with the ongoing buzz of Sachin Pilot potentially being reappointed as Rajasthan Congress president, suggests Gehlot may be strategically reigniting factional politics to counter Pilot's potential influence and assert his own return to active organizational politics, especially given Pilot's current role as an AICC general secretary while Gehlot, a former three-time Chief Minister, has not been accommodated organizationally.

Veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has resurfaced a four-year-old dispute, alleging a "big conspiracy" within the party prevented his elevation to national president, a position now held by Mallikarjun Kharge, and his statement is interpreted as an attempt to gain the attention of the Gandhi family amidst ongoing discussions about reshuffling key party roles like general secretaries and in-charges, which are becoming vacant due to appointments as state unit presidents, ministers, or resignations. Gehlot, who has not been able to secure appointments with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for months, expressed surprise at the perception that he refused the presidency, asserting he would not have refused such an offer and suggesting observers Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge's sudden arrival in Rajasthan in 2022, during the intended handover of the Chief Minister's post to Sachin Pilot, led to his defamation. This resurfacing of old tensions, particularly with the ongoing buzz of Sachin Pilot potentially being reappointed as Rajasthan Congress president, suggests Gehlot may be strategically reigniting factional politics to counter Pilot's potential influence and assert his own return to active organizational politics, especially given Pilot's current role as an AICC general secretary while Gehlot, a former three-time Chief Minister, has not been accommodated organizationally.

Veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has resurfaced a four-year-old dispute, alleging a "big conspiracy" within the party prevented his elevation to national president, a position now held by Mallikarjun Kharge, and his statement is interpreted as an attempt to gain the attention of the Gandhi family amidst ongoing discussions about reshuffling key party roles like general secretaries and in-charges, which are becoming vacant due to appointments as state unit presidents, ministers, or resignations. Gehlot, who has not been able to secure appointments with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for months, expressed surprise at the perception that he refused the presidency, asserting he would not have refused such an offer and suggesting observers Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge's sudden arrival in Rajasthan in 2022, during the intended handover of the Chief Minister's post to Sachin Pilot, led to his defamation. This resurfacing of old tensions, particularly with the ongoing buzz of Sachin Pilot potentially being reappointed as Rajasthan Congress president, suggests Gehlot may be strategically reigniting factional politics to counter Pilot's potential influence and assert his own return to active organizational politics, especially given Pilot's current role as an AICC general secretary while Gehlot, a former three-time Chief Minister, has not been accommodated organizationally.

As murmurs of a major organisational reshuffle grow within the Congress, veteran party leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has reignited a 4-year-old debate, saying that a "big conspiracy" within the party had impeded his elevation to the post of national president, currently held by Mallikarjun Kharge.

According to a party insider, Gehlot has not been able to meet party leader Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for a few months despite seeking an appointment. Therefore, the statement could be a way of drawing the Gandhi family's attention before decisions are taken on the appointment of general secretaries and in-charges.

The party is contemplating filling a few positions of AICC general secretaries and in-charges after some of them were appointed state unit presidents, one became a minister, and another resigned. The Tamil Nadu and Haryana in-charges, Girish Chodankar and B.K. Hariprasad have been made state unit presidents in their respective states of Goa and Karnataka.

Meanwhile, Ramesh Chennithala, who was the general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, has been made home minister in Kerala after the Congress secured a decisive victory in the state. In Assam, Congress in-charge Bhanwar Jitendra Singh resigned after the party lost the assembly elections to the BJP.

The Congress leadership is expected to fill these positions after the Rajya Sabha elections, according to party leaders. "The buck doesn't stop there. There are a few general secretaries and in-charges whose performance is weak, and they could also be replaced, as Rahul Gandhi is taking a keen interest in fixing the organisation," said a Congress leader.

What has surprised many, however, is Gehlot's public statement that he never refused to take up the role of Congress president and that a perception opposite to it was deliberately created.

Gehlot said, “I know the stature of the Congress president's post. Mahatma Gandhi had been the president. Pandit Nehru, Motilal Nehru, Sardar Patel—who hadn't been? If Sonia Gandhi and the Congress had made me the Congress president, would I have refused?”

“The situation was so created. I think it was a big conspiracy. The observers arrived suddenly, and I got defamed,” he said. The two observers sent by the Gandhis to address the Rajasthan issue were Ajay Maken, who is currently holding the second-highest position in the Congress of AICC treasurer, and Malikarjun Kharge, who is the Congress president.

In 2022, the central leadership attempted to transfer the chief minister's post to Sachin Pilot and promote Ashok Gehlot to the post of Congress president. But the move was met with rebellion from the Gehlot loyalists.

Notably, there is constant buzz that the general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh, Sachin Pilot, who is seen as Gehlot's rival in Rajasthan, could be reappointed as the Rajasthan Congress president. According to analysts, Gehlot reopening old wounds could also be a way of reigniting factional politics in Rajasthan, as he may believe that if Pilot gets the state unit chief's position, he could attempt to marginalise Gehlot's influence.

A senior Congress leader said, "Sachin Pilot is an AICC general secretary, while Gehlot, a veteran and three-time chief minister, hasn't been accommodated in the Congress after losing assembly elections in Rajasthan. That is the sum total of the political standing of both the leaders within the party. But Gehlot has been trying hard to come back into the active organisational politics."