Jaipur:
The question of who will be the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan turned into a full-blown crisis for the party today, with over 80 MLAs on way to meet the Speaker saying they want to resign. A mass resignation can pull down the Congress government.
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
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The 80-plus MLAs, loyalists of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, have refused to accept Sachin Pilot in the top post and raised the issue of his rebellion in 2020. At a meeting earlier this evening, held at the home of MLA Shanti Dhariwal, they passed a resolution saying the Chief Minister must be picked from among those who supported the government at the time.
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Independent MLA Sanyam Lodha, who also attended the meet, had told NDTV, “If the decision is not taken according to the wishes of the MLAs, how will the government run? The government will fall”.
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The legislature party meeting, which was scheduled for 7 pm in presence of central leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken, is yet to be held.
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Mr Gehlot, who had spent the day in Jaisalmer, went into a huddle with Mr Kharge and Mr Maken on his return to Jaipur. The meeting was held at a five-star hotel after which Mr Gehlot headed home.
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In Jaisalmer, Mr Gehlot had told reporters that they have faith in the party high command’s decision. “All Congressmen unanimously keep faith on the Congress president, and today also, you will get a glimpse of it,” he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
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Mr Gehlot, front-runner for the post of the party president, had been extremely reluctant to leave the top job in Rajasthan in order to keep out arch-rival Mr Pilot. But with Rahul Gandhi’s public support to the party’s “one man one post” resolution, he .
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Sources indicated earlier that in case he failed to hold onto both posts, Mr Gehlot would prefer a loyalist to head the government to keep out Mr Pilot, who apparently has the support of the party’s central leadership this time.
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In the 200-seat state assembly, the Congress has 100 MLAs, as well as the six who switched to the Congress from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party. Under the circumstances, the Congress barely makes it past the halfway mark of 101 and needs the support of the Independents to maintain stability.
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Rajinder Guda, the leader of the six Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs who had switched to the Congress, also underscored their importance. “We are the G-6 and we can make or break a government,” he told reporters.
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Mr Pilot, credited by many with being the architect of victory in the last assembly election, was seen as a contender for the top job but was persuaded by Rahul Gandhi to act as Mr Gehlot’s Deputy. In 2020, he had rebelled, camping out in Delhi with 18 supporters. The stand-off was resolved after more than a month with intervention of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
