In the backdrop of Congress' Lok Sabha poll drubbing, especially in Rajasthan, where BJP swept all 25 seats, Rajasthan Minister Udai Lal Anjana said that situation would have been different if Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot followed his advice of fielding his son Vaibhav Gehlot from Jalore instead of Jodhpur.
His remark also came following Congress president Rahul Gandhi's strident remarks about top party leaders such as Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot and P Chidambaram working towards promoting their own sons above the party in the just concluded general elections.
"I had suggested it in 2014 and this time also, I had approached him three to four times and told him that his son Vaibhav should be made to contest from Jalore instead of Jodhpur. Had he contested from Jalore, the situation would have been different for the Congress and such results should not have come," said Udai Lal Anjana.
"I have contested the 2014 elections from Jalore and I know about the social, political and caste equation there. In such conditions, Vaibhav could have been the best contestant, hence I suggested the same," said Anjana.
Rajasthan chief minister Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot contested from Jodhpur parliamentary constituency and lost, while Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath has won from Chhindwara and P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram registered a victory from Sivaganga.
During the CWC meeting, taking moral responsibility for the defeat in the polls, the Congress president offered to resign but it was rejected 'unmously' by the party members who authorised him to do a complete overhaul and restructure the party at every level.Congress faced debacle in Lok Sabha election with just 52 seats in its bag. The party was swept aside in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where it had won assembly elections just months ago.
( With inputs from ANI )