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Ashok Gehlot may go for a cabinet reshuffle after Rajya Sabha polls: Party leaders
The Congress, with 108 MLAs can win two seat and BJP with 71 can win two. The contest is for the third seat between Congress’s Pramod Tiwari and media baron Subhash Chandra, who is supported by BJP
JAIPUR: Rajasthan police on Tuesday issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Chandrakanta Meghwal in a five-year-old assault case and Congress leaders in the state spoke about the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle to accommodate more MLAs after June 10, both developments linked to the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for that day.
Despite the Congress expressing confidence of getting the 126 votes it needs for its three candidates --- Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala and Pramod Tiwari --- media baron, Subhash Chandra, who is being supported by the BJP, said he would get the additional eight votes he needs to win the poll.
On Tuesday, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLD), which has 3 MLAs decided to support Chandra and two Bharatiya Tribal Party MLAs (BTP) announced their support for Congress in presence of Gehlot in Udaipur.
To win, a candidate needs 41 votes. The Congress, with 108 MLAs can win two seat and BJP with 71 can win two. The contest is for the third seat between Tiwari and Chandra. The BJP has 30 surplus votes and the Congress, 26. The 18 law-makers from smaller parties and independents will decide the third winner.
A senior Congress leader aware of the development said chief minister Ashok Gehlot has assured that he plans to expand his cabinet -- a move that he admitted was aimed at some disgruntled MLAs in the party, and to ensure they vote along partly-lines.
Another party leader familiar with the development said the six MLAs who moved to the Congress from the BSP, complained of not getting the due respect in the party, despite standing with it during 2020 political crisis following rebellion by senior party leader, Sachin Pilot. The party has promised to address their concerns, he added.
A third leader confirmed that there would be a reshuffle, but said that it has been on the cards for some time with Gehlot indicating as much during the Congress Gaurav Yatra in Dungarpur in April. “This reshuffle will be based on performance, social engineering and regional representation.”
On the police notice to Chandrakanta Meghwal, the BJP accused Gehlot of intimidating the legislator in view of the Rajya Sabha elections, but an aide of the chief minister dismissed the charge saying the case against the latter was registered when the BJP was in power. The case was lodged against Meghwal, who represents Keshoraipatan assembly constituency, at Mahaveer Nagar police station of Kota in February 2017 ; the notice issued asks him to appear before the police to cooperate in the investigation, a senior police officer said.
BJP state president Satish Poonia lashed out at the chief minister. “The Congress has morally lost the Rajya Sabha election and state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is hatching a malicious conspiracy to intimidate BJP MLA in the name of action in cases. Don’t play with fire Gehlot Sahab. Elections will conclude on June 10, then?” Poonia tweeted.
Reacting to Poonia’s comment, Lokesh Sharma, the officer on special (OSD) to the CM, tweeted, “When the case was registered against the MLA, at that time there was a BJP government in the state. In such a situation, was there a ‘malicious conspiracy done to intimidate’ then?”
Meghwal is among the legislators camping at a resort in Jaipur outskirts for a ‘training camp’ of the BJP.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya LokTantrik party (RLP) has announced that its three MLAs will support independent MLA Subhash Chandra, likely taking his tally to 33, 8 short of the winning number. “I have full confidence that I will get additional eight votes. I am winning this election,” Chandra said.
