he was appointed as Union Minister again by then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. He was discharged from his duty in 1993 and headed towards his home state Rajasthan to manage Congress political affairs. In 1998, Congress won a landslide victory by winning 153 out of 200 seats. Ashok Gehlot was appointed as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the first time. In 2003, Congress lost Rajasthan and won merely 56 seats. In 2008 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election Congress was short of a majority by 4 seats and Gehlot who was a well-known troubleshooter in Congress was appointed as the Chief Minister to prevent instability and thus he was sworn in for the second time as Chief Minister. In 2013, Congress suffered its worst-ever defeat by only winning 21 seats in 200 member assembly. Gehlot was then appointed as AICC General Secretary in 2013. He remained at the position till 2018 and after 2018 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election, when Congress returned to power he was appointed as the Chief Minister for the third time despite the strong candidacy of Sachin Pilot due to his role in the revival of Congress after its worst-ever defeat in Legislative Elections. Sachin Pilot was appointed as Deputy Chief Minister. In 2022, it was reported that Sonia Gandhi supports Gehlot leading Congress in the next Indian general election. In 2023, during his budget speech of FY23-24, Ashok Gehlot mistakenly reads previous year budget for minutes until he was stopped by a INC MLA in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Positions held Other positions held References External links Interview to rediff.com in 1999 |- |- |- |- 1951 births Living people Chief Ministers of Rajasthan Indian National Congress politicians People from Jodhpur Rajasthani people Rajasthani politicians India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 Finance Ministers of Rajasthan Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Chief ministers from Indian National Congress People named in the Paradise Papers Rajasthan MLAs 2018–2023