Former Rajasthan chief-minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has stated that though the Congress lost its bid to replace the BJP in Gujarat and lost power in Himachal Pradesh, it gained a lot which augurs well for the leadership of Rahul Gandhi who took over as party president a few days back.

66-year old Gehlot, who is also the party’s national general secretary, was the campaign manager of the Congress party in the State.  The soft-spoken Gehlot gave the BJP a close fight in the Prime Minister’s home-State.  A few months, Gehlot was made in-charge of the party’s election campaign and strategy in Gujarat by taking on the powerful duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

Though Gehlot is likely to be questioned by the party’s top brass, he deserves a huge pat on his back for making the Congress favourite to win the Assembly polls during the exit polls conducted prior to the Assembly polls.  This was considered a huge achievement by political analysts and critics who attribute the growth in the Congress’ vote bank to the joint efforts of Gehlot and party president Rahul Gandhi.

"We are quite happy with the way the campaign went and are happy irrespective of the election result," Gehlot remarked.