Jodhpur has become a prestige battle for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as in this election, his son, 39-year-old Vaibhav Gehlot will make his political debut from Jodhpur, a seat the chief minister has represented five times as MP and three times as MLA. Interestingly, the first time Ashok Gehlot fought an election in Jodhpur was in 1980, the year Vaibhav was born. The Congress is hoping they will be able to take on Gajendra Singh Shekhawat successfully here, even though Gajendra is a popular face in Jodhpur, has been a union minister and in the last Lok Sabha election won with a convincing margin of over 4,10,000 votes. But in the recent assembly elections 2018, the BJP managed to win only two of the eight assembly segments under Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency. Vaibhav is hoping to ride home on the popularity of his father Ashok Gehlot, who is known for his simple style of politics and his accessible nature, while for Gajendra Shekhawat, the Modi magic, still may work.
