In a surprise statement, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asserted on Thursday that he would repeat with his government on a ‘Mission-156′ (seats) mode in the assembly elections to be held in December this year. The statement has taken political circles by storm.

“When I was PCC president, the party won 156 assembly seats in 1998. Now again we have to work on Mission-156. The same number of seats has to be brought back,” Gehlot told the media after attending Republic-Day Parade at the SMS Stadium here.

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“I have been doing very hard work with all devotion round the clock for the last four years in my third term. I do not speak without thinking, I am gifted, I speak from my heart. We returned to power in 2018 from the atmosphere created by voters that Gehlot should be made the CM. It was the voice of the public by the grace of God,” he said with a grin on his spectacled face.

“After the 1989 victory, the Congress could not return to power in 2003 assembly polls because the state employees were against us. We had the government in 2008 for the second term. The 2013 assembly polls were swept away from the Congress due to the Modi wave that is why we had come down to 21 seats,” Gehlot recalled.

The CM said that four years after coming to power for the third time, there was no atmosphere (anti-incumbency) against the government.

“People say that the chief minister is a good man. Do you know how good it is? People say that he takes care of us, took care of us during Corona pandemic, this is what good means. I don’t know politics. I do politics of service and my work gets done,” he said animatedly.

While profiling his 50 years’ career in politics, the CM said, “My politics rests on service, I have been successful because of that. To be successful one has to go to the extent of madness. Many people do politics for 24 hours, I am also one of them. There is no doubt, whether it is politics or any work, it should be done with all your heart, unless you do politics to the extent of insanity, work to the extent of insanity. If you don’t do business, you don’t get success till then, for that you have to become mad.”

On the BJP’s role, he said, “The Opposition has completely failed in four years. They being reprimanded again and again from Delhi for what are they are doing. Why did you people show your worthlessness for four years? The Central leadership of the BJP is constantly asking the leaders of Rajasthan to answer this. That’s why BJP’s National President JP Nadda is coming to Rajasthan again and again. When the leaders of the Central leadership ask them this question, they have no answer.”

Earlier, the CM unfurled the National Flag at CM-Residence while Governor Kalraj Mishra unfurled the tricolour at the SMS stadium and took the salute of a state level parade.