Rajasthan Assembly elections 2018: Vasundhara Raje, Ashok Gehlot, or Sachin Pilot - Prime contenders for the Chief Minister's post

While BJP has declared that Vasundhara Raje will become the chief minister again if the party wins, the Congress has said that the name for the top post will be declared once the results are out.

Rajasthan Assembly elections 2018: Vasundhara Raje, Ashok Gehlot, or Sachin Pilot - Prime contenders for the Chief Minister's post

If the political tradition and the exit polls are taken into consideration, the Congress is expected to make a comeback in Rajasthan. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already declared that Vasundhara Raje will become the chief minister again if the party wins the Assembly elections, the Congress has said that the name for the top post will be declared once the results are out.

The top contenders for the post in Rajasthan for the Congress are former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state party chief Sachin Pilot.

Here’s a look at the chief minister probables in the state:

Vasundhara Raje:

Vasundhara Raje has been the most popular and powerful face of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. She won the 2013 Assembly elections from Jhalrapatan constituency, defeating Congress candidate Meenakshi Chandrawat by a margin of almost 61,000 votes. Vasundhara’s major rise in Rajasthan politics came in 2003 when she was elected as the state unit chief of the BJP. She had previously served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 2003 to 2008. Between 2008 and 2013, she served as the leader of the opposition party in the Rajasthan Assembly. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress fielded Manvendra Singh against her.

Ashok Gehlot:

Ashok Gehlot, a two-term chief minister, is the tallest leader of the Congress party in Rajasthan. Though Gehlot has, off late, mostly been seen in the national political circle alongside Congress president Rahul Gandhi, he is still believed to enjoy a huge popularity in his home state of Rajasthan. He became the chief minister of Rajasthan in 1998 and remained in power till 2003. He was re-elected to the top post in 2008 and completed the full term till 2013. He contested the 2018 Assembly elections from Sardarpura constituency in Jodhpur district.

Sachin Pilot:

If the Congress wins the Assembly elections and decides to go with the young brigade, Sachin Pilot, who is the chief of the party’s Rajasthan unit, is certain to become the new chief minister of the state. Though there were earlier speculations that Pilot might not contest the Assembly elections, he was fielded by the Congress party from Tonk constituency. The 41-year-old leader, who is the son of deceased Congress veteran Rajesh Pilot, has expressed confidence that the party will win the Assembly elections 2018 with a thumping majority. In the run-up to the polls, many had spoken about a rift between Gehlot and Pilot. However, the two leaders have attended several rallies and public meetings together along with Rahul Gandhi to present a unified front in front of the people.