Ashok Gehlot gets to be third time Rajasthan Chief minister or not, but he has established himself as a politician of highest stature.
Gehlot was looked down at in his early political life in 1970s as not so good a rhetorician. His words are short and to the point, not deviating from a subject. It is now the biggest asset of Gehlot in four decades of public service, twice in Indira cabinet, once in Rajiv cabinet, perhaps five assembly and three parliamentary elections from the same constituency. He has been trapped seriously at many times by media and opposition to utter a thing he would have to defend himself later with regret. But he has absolutely never had a slip of tongue.
Sonia Gandhi’s words of “mot ka sodagar” in about 2009, Modi’s “one family ownership of India” or a thing meaning similar scalding words, “chhappan inch ki chhati” in 2014 elections, all had ugly connotations.
Besides his simplicity of attitude is a great asset in the internet age, when text is minimized and emotions are caught free handed by hundred cameras looking at a person publishing on a hundred web sites globally. Trump’s angered face, Clinton’s frustrations, Modi’s sharp thinking forehead, Vasundhara’s confused forced smile, Sonia Gandhi’s stress are obvious to camera without uttering lots of words. Gehlot trade mark of composed simplicity puts him on higher level of a great leadership skill. This should be a cause of celebration for all politicians, left, right or centrists in India.
Like Modi, he has also not accumulated any assets. Last time I knew, he would stay in government bungalows but no plot of land in his name. A friend imported two Mercedes Benzes from USA, and had to keep the cars in Delhi until drivers came from Jodhpur, the home town of the friend in 1988. So cars had to be stored in Delhi for two days. Gehlot said that friend was welcome to use space in his bungalow, but in back side. He did not want to be a gossip issue for owning two Mercedes Benzes. So conscious he was to keep and stay clean.
But a person who is most often overlooked from career of a politician is his wife. Wife of Gehlot is no exception. Always working dutifully as a wife of a very active, busy politician, Mrs. Sunita Gehlot fulfills her duties with utter simplicity, no trace of being the wife of a very important politician of our times. She must have an iron will to support the endeavors of a politician, with equal simplicity and earthiness as the husband’s is. She reminds us very much of Rosalynn Carter, wife of US President Jimmy Carter. Always a supportive wife, always present and always graceful.
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