Sachin Pilot should take responsibility for my son Vaibhav's defeat in Jodhpur, says Ashok Gehlot

Drubbed in the Rajasthan Lok Sabha elections within six months of being elected to power in the state, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has sounded a discordant note and put the blame of his son Vaibhav Gehlot's defeat on PCC chief Sachin Pilot.

Ashok Gehlot said during an interview to ABP News that as the state Congress chief, Sachin Pilot should take responsibility for Vaibhav Gehlot losing the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat.

Jodhpur has been Ashok Gehlot's stronghold for several years. He had been elected five times from the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat.

Gehlot has said that Sachin Pilot was confident that Jodhpur will be won with a big margin and said that the election campaign was good. The report quotes Gehlot as saying, "So I feel he should take responsibility for that seat at least."

He added, "If someone says that the CM or the PCC chief should take responsibility for it, I believe it's a collective responsibility."

As Congress lost all 25 seats in the Lok



Sabha elections within six months of forming the government in Rajasthan, a bitter blamegame has ensued among the supporters of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.

This comes weeks after Congress president Rahul Gandhi pulled up Ashok Gehlot for neglecting campaigning in rest of the state to focus on his son's campaign in Jodhpur.

In the aftermath of the poll debacle, other Congress leaders such as Udai Lal Anjana also raised questions on Vaibhav's candidature.

"Some mistakes have happened in the assessment of seat for Vaibhav Gehlot and we all are reaping the bitter fruit for that. I had suggested Gehlot that Jalore is a more suitable seat for him because I understand the equations in Jalore," he said.

Vaibhav Gehlot lost the Jodhpur stronghold seat to Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The BJP candidate won by a massive margin of over 4 lakh votes.

Ashok Gehlot had widely campaigned for his son in the Jodhpur constituency, which failed to bear any fruit.