Ashok Gehlot Biography: Age, Birthday, Early Life, Education, Political Career

Ashok Gehlot Biography: Ashok Gehlot, an Indian National Congress (INC) member, served twice as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013. He also served as Union Minister on multiple occasions. In 1980, he was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha for the first time from the Jodhpur parliamentary constituency. He subsequently represented the Jodhpur parliamentary constituency in the eighth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Lok Sabhas. He was elected MLA for the Sardarpura (Jodhpur) assembly constituency in 1999. He won three consecutive assembly elections.

Ashok Gehlot was born on May 3, 1951 in Jodhpur’s Mahamandir. He is a member of the Mali Gehlot family in Jodhpur. Gehlot has completed his bachelor’s degrees in Science, Law, and Economics.

Ashok Gehlot Biography

Early Life and Education of Ashok Gehlot

Mr Ashok Gehlot was born in the household of Mr Laxman Singh Gehlot in Mahamandir, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, on May 3, 1951. Mr Gehlot is well-known for his simplicity and Gandhian values. He holds a bachelor’s in science and law and a master’s in economics. Mr Gehlot was married to Mrs Sunita Gehlot on November 27, 1977. Mr Gehlot has a son named Vaibhav and a daughter named Sonia. He encounters people face-to-face to understand their pain and suffering. Mr Gehlot is known for working around the clock.

During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, he served in refugee centres in several locations, including the districts of Bangaon and 24 Parganas, West Bengal. He was also an active participant in the Tarun Shanti Sena’s camps in Sevagram, Indore, Aurangabad, and Wardha.

Career

In 1977, he ran for the Sardarpura constituency of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and lost by a margin of 4,426 ballots to his closest opponent, Madhav Singh of the Janata Party. He had to sell his motorbike to run for office for the first time. In 1980, he ran for election to the Lok Sabha in Jodhpur and won by a margin of 52,519 ballots. He was designated Union Minister in 1984. He lost the election from Jodhpur in 1989.

When the Congress party returned to power in 1991, then-Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao reappointed him as Union Minister. He was discharged in 1993 and returned to his home state of Rajasthan to administer the political affairs of the Congress. In 1998, the Congress achieved an overwhelming victory by capturing 153 of 200 seats. Ashok Gehlot was nominated as the first-ever Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

In 2003, the Congress was defeated in Rajasthan, winning only 56 seats. In the 2008 election for the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Congress fell short of a majority by four seats. To prevent instability, Gehlot, a renowned Congress troubleshooter, was appointed as Chief Minister and sworn in for a second term.

On 8 January 2013 in New Delhi, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, met with the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Jyotiraditya Scindia.

It was reported in 2022 that Sonia Gandhi endorses Gehlot to head the Congress in the upcoming Indian general election.

In 2023, during his budget speech for FY23-24, Ashok Gehlot reads the budget for the previous fiscal year for several minutes until he is interrupted by an INC MLA in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.

Personal Life

Ashok Gehlot is the son of the magician Laxman Singh Gehlot, who toured the country performing magic feats.[5] He is of the Mali caste. Gehlot was born into a modest household with no political connections. He possesses science and law degrees, as well as an MA in economics. He is married to Sunita Gehlot and has a daughter and a son. His son Vaibhav Gehlot is a politician who ran from Jodhpur in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He belongs to the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. Even as a student, he was already influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and actively engaged in social and political activities. During the 1971 East Bengali refugee crisis, he worked in refugee centres in the eastern Indian states. During one of her visits to the refugee camps, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi first recognised his organisational talents there. Later, Gehlot was designated the first State President of the National Students’ Union of India, and he organised the Congress Student Wing in the state with great success. Gehlot is a devoted Gandhian, and he resided in Wardha to adjust his lifestyle to that of a Gandhian. He consumes before sunset, is a strict vegetarian, and appreciates Satvik meals. He is also an abstainer.

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Achievements

• In 1974, he was elected president of the Rajasthan NSUI.
• 1979 saw his election as president of the City District Congress Committee of Jodhpur.
• In 1980, he was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee.
• In 1982, he was elected General Secretary of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee.
• In 1982, he was appointed Union Deputy Minister, Department of Tourism.
• In 1983, he held the position of Union Deputy Minister for the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
• In 1984, he became the Union’s Deputy Minister for the Department of Sports.
• In 1984, he served as the Minister of State for the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
• He was elected President of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee in 1985, 1994, and 1997.
• In 1989, he became Minister of the Department of the Interior and PHED.
• In 1991, he served as the Union’s Minister of State for the Textiles Department.
• In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha Consultative Committee on Communication.
• In 1991, he was elected to the Standing Committee on Railway of the 10th and 11th Lok Sabha.
• 1996 saw his election to the Lok Sabha’s Consultative Committee on External Affairs.
• In 1998, he became the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
• He served as Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 2008 to 2013.
• He was nominated General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee in 2017.
• On December 17, 2018, he assumed office as Chief Minister of Rajasthan.