Rajasthan BJP chief targets Gehlot over delimitation, questions Congress unity

Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) accused former chief minister Ashok Gehlot of trying to hide the Congress's failures by blaming delimitation and questioned his claim of a rapprochement with Sachin Pilot.

Mr. Rathore said Mr. Gehlot is frustrated after losing power, and accused him of manipulating ward boundaries during his tenure as chief minister and creating two municipal corporations in cities.

"Gehlot should first clarify whether he stands with Sachin Pilot or still holds the same views about him as he did earlier," the BJP leader said.

Mr. Rathore alleged that Mr. Gehlot has been making statements on half-baked information on the women's reservation and the proposed increase in Lok Sabha and Assembly seats.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought consensus on women's reservation, but the Congress created obstacles.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Gehlot condemned the alleged assault on NSUI leader Ritu Barala and other women protesters by Delhi Police during a demonstration in the nation capital.

"Barala was detained during an NSUI protest against vote theft in Delhi on Tuesday and was beaten inside a bus by a woman constable named Chanchal Yadav... She was taken to a police station and hit on the legs with batons," Mr. Gehlot said on X.

"Delhi Police should remember that we will not forget this brutality," he added.

Meanwhile in Delhi, Pilot, a Congress general secretary, said he has no "personal animosity" with Mr. Gehlot.

Mr. Rathore here questioned the Congress over an alleged agreement with China and demanded that the party make the Memorandum of Understanding public.

The BJP leader said his party built public trust through years of working in the opposition, while the Congress steadily lost its support base.

Mr. Rathore claimed that the Congress neither respected the people's mandate nor adhered to constitutional procedures, and accused Rahul Gandhi of expecting institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission, and the Executive to act according to his whims.