Congress leader Ashok Gehlot appointed as General Secretary

New Delhi, March 30: Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot was on Friday appointed General Secretary in charge of organisation and training at the AICC, virtually dimming his chances of becoming Chief Minister if the party wins the Assembly elections in Rajasthan this year end.

He replaces another veteran Janardhan Dwivedi, 73, who was holding charge of organisation and training as General Secretary from 2007.

The re-designation of 67-year-old Gehlot, who is already a General Secretary, is being seen as a signal that the party may prefer 41-year-old Sachin Pilot as a probable chief ministerial candidates in Rajasthan. Gehlot was Chief Minister of the state from 1998 to 2003 and from 2008 to 2013.

Gehlot, who was close to Congress President Rahul Gandhi and worked with him closely in the recent Gujarat Assembly elections, had won praise for the Congress' good show in the Gujarat elections, in which it had won 77 seats up from 61.