Gehlot cautions Congress leaders about ‘misuse’ of police, administration by BJP in Rajasthan Panchayat polls

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Monday (October 12, 2026) called upon party leaders and workers to unite for the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections and warned them that the BJP will "repeat the misuse of police and administration".

The Panchayati Raj polls will be held in four phases from October 22 to November 16.

"The BJP will certainly repeat the misuse of the administration and police during the Panchayati Raj elections, just as it did in the urban local body polls. We will have to confront this dishonesty by taking the people along," Mr. Gehlot said in a post on X.

He claimed that despite alleged irregularities, the Congress performed well in the urban local body elections and secured nearly as many votes as the BJP.

"The Congress has always been strong in rural areas, and therefore, the party will win," the former Chief Minister said.

Mr. Gehlot said the elections are a collective responsibility of the party leadership and workers.

"This is not the fight of an individual. It is a fight for all of us. I am also speaking to public representatives over the phone and have already spoken to several colleagues," he said.

He urged Congress workers to visit villages, remain among the people and expose what he described as the BJP's undemocratic activities.

"When the people are with us, no administration or police can snatch their mandate," he said.