Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje will perhaps eternally regret her words on May 7, voting day in Rajasthan, when she challenged Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to try win 21 Lok Sabha seats — a feat she had managed for the BJP in the 2004 polls. While Gehlot may not have hit the 21 mark, he engineered a sweep of 20 of Rajasthan’s 25 parliamentary constituencies, the Congress’s highest tally since 1984.

From subduing any would-be rebellion within the Congress, to seamlessly brushing off a blistering personal attack from the BJP, Gehlot has emerged as the undisputed party heavyweight in Rajasthan and considered the main architect of the 2008 assembly elections and then the Lok Sabha polls.

“Full credit has to be given to Gehlot for the Congress’s performance. After becoming CM in December, he took charge, despite forces within the party working against him, and has steered us to an unprecedented victory,” said state Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) spokesperson Satinder Raghav. He added that Gehlot left nothing to chance and visited all 25 constituencies more than once in the last couple of months before polling. “The only thing on his mind was the Congress slogan ‘Target 25’,” he said.

Considered a calm and understated leader during his 1998 to 2003 stint as CM, Gehlot was forced to adopt a far more aggressive approach in crafting his party’s victory in Rajasthan. The change was visible in the run-up to the Assembly elections, when Gehlot refused to take the BJP campaign against him sitting down. A senior leader said, “When he was the CM and campaigning in 2003, he was never vocal. But this time, Gehlot had to change to succeed”. He added that though Gehlot chose to ignore personal jibes from the BJP, he took every opportunity to hit the party where it hurt the most.

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