The Gandhis have ruled out Ashok Gehlot, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, as Congress president after a rebellion by more than 90 Rajasthan MLAs faithful to him. Following the crisis in Rajasthan, CM Ashok Gehlot, who was considered the front-runner in the Congress presidential election, has dropped out of the race. According to sources, the party’s top leadership is opposed to him filing a nomination.
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According to sources, the status quo will be maintained until the nominations for Congress president are announced. They added that the decision on issuing show cause notices to irritated MLAs who have been vocal in public will be made after the interim chief takes action on the Observers’ report.
#RajasthanCrisis | Status-quo to be maintained till Congress president election nominations. Decision on issuing of show cause notices to miffed MLAs, vocal in public, will be taken after interim chief takes action on report by Observers: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2022
Sonia, visibly upset, demanded a written report on the situation in Rajasthan from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken on Monday. Meanwhile, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, 71, agreed to step down as Chief Minister before being appointed as Congress President after Rahul Gandhi made it clear that he would not be allowed to serve in two capacities, in accordance with the Congress’s “one person, one post” policy.
The loyalist MLAs expressed opposition to the appointment of Sachin Pilot, who led a rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, to the post.
Gehlot and Pilot spent the day at their respective homes in Jaipur. Pilot met with his supporters, but they did not publicly comment on the events of Sunday. Gehlot held a Navratri puja.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was photographed playing football with tribal children in Kerala, where he is directing the ‘Bharat Jodo’ Yatra. He has remained silent on the western state’s problems.
According to Congress sources, 82 MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot will hold another meeting to decide their next course of action. They say they want someone who supported the Congress government during Rajasthan’s political crisis in 2020 to be the next chief minister.
Pilot and 18 other party MLAs rebelled against Ashok Gehlot’s leadership in July 2020. In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 108 MLAs.
