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Pilot’s fate in balance as Gehlot camp digs heels
People familiar with the matter said Congress president Sonia Gandhi would meet Gehlot, Pilot, and senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken in Delhi on Monday to resolve the issue
The Congress in Rajasthan plunged into disarray on Sunday evening, with legislators loyal to chief minister Ashok Gehlot threatening to bring the government down unless they get to pick his successor and indicating that former deputy CM Sachin Pilot’s candidature would not be acceptable.
People familiar with the matter said Congress president Sonia Gandhi would meet Gehlot, Pilot, and senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken in Delhi on Monday to resolve the issue. Maken said he and Kharge would meet the legislators later on Sunday night or early Monday morning to address their concerns.
As this paper was going to press, there was no clarity on whether a planned meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) would be held, but Maken and Kharge were meeting ministers Shanti Dhariwal and Pratap Singh Kacharariyawas at the CM’s residence.
Gehlot is contesting for the post of Congress president and while he was initially keen to keep both jobs — should he win the poll to be president — he seemed reconciled to stepping down as chief minister after former president Rahul Gandhi reiterated that the Congress would stick to the one person, one post rule.
On Sunday morning, he even seemed reconciled to seeing his bete noire and former deputy CM of the state Pilot take over as his successor. The transfer of power was to be effected in principle at a meeting of the CLP at the chief minister’s residence at 7pm in the presence of Kharge and Maken, who is also the party in-charge for Rajasthan.
But lawmakers loyal to Gehlot — various state Congress leaders put the number at anything between 83 and 97 — gathered instead at the residence of minister Shanti Dhariwal, a Gehlot loyalist who also has chief ministerial ambitions. Some wanted the party to make an exception and allow Gehlot to continue to be chief minister even if he were to be elected party president, said the leaders. Others wanted someone from Gehlot’s camp as CM, the leaders added.
The first sign of the crisis emerged when technical education minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) MLA, Subhash Garg, said on Sunday evening that whatever decision was taken by the Congress leadership would be acceptable to all but they must remember that two years back a conspiracy to topple the government was hatched in connivance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a clear dig at Pilot’s camp.
“At that time, 102 MLAs including independents, BTP, and CP(M) MLAs saved the government, and remained in hotels for 45 days. They stood behind the Congress,” Garg said, asking the Congress leadership to consider the views of the people and take into account the MLAs’ expectations.
The CLP meeting was pushed to 8.30pm, but by then the lawmakers had left Dhariwal’s house in a bus for the residence of speaker CP Joshi, who, it is believed, is the CM’s own choice as his replacement.
“If the decision is not taken keeping the MLAs’ sentiments in mind, the government will be in danger,” said independent legislator and adviser to the chief minister Sanyam Lodha, who participated in the meeting.
The Congress is in power in just two states: Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Another MLA Govind Ram Meghwal said Gehlot could shoulder both the roles — of the CM as well as the party’s national president. The leaders said their resignation letters were ready. Minister Pratap Singh Kacharariyawas claimed 97 MLAs would resign.
The Congress has 108 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, but Gehlot also enjoys the support of 13 independents. Of this, around 18 are believed to be supporters of former deputy CM Pilot.
Until late in the night, there was no sign of the CLP meeting starting, and some of the leaders cited above said it could well be postponed.
Most of the lawmakers were still outside the speaker’s residence and it was not immediately clear if they had resigned.
The MLAs said that during the meeting at Dhariwal’s house, they spoke about the purported attempt to hand over the government to Pilot, which would not be acceptable.
“The MLAs are meeting at the parliamentary affairs minister’s house to discuss some issues. They are telling their mann ki baat (talking from their heart) to senior party leaders. Whether Pilot will be chief minister or not will be decided at the legislative party meeting,” Kachariyawas said after returning from Jaisalmer, where he had gone with Gehlot and state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara to visit the Janot Mata temple.
Gehlot is expected to file his nomination for the party president’s election on Monday.
KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary, spoke to Gehlot about the situation, a senior party functionary said. “Gehlot was told that the party leadership was upset over what was happening in Jaipur,” the functionary said. However, Venugoptal told news agency ANI, “Neither did I talk to CM Ashok Gehlot today, nor did he call me, things will be sorted out soon.”
As the protests by MLAs loyal to Gehlot were playing out, lawmakers close to Pilot and some neutral MLAs reached the CM’s residence for the scheduled CLP meeting. This was to be the second CLP meeting within a week. On September 20, Gehlot called a CLP meeting at his residence where he informed the MLAs about his decision to contest for the post of party president.
Reiterating that no post was important for him, Gehlot said that the new generation should be given a chance to lead the party and the government in Rajasthan. “I have been in politics for the last 50 years from NSUI, and have been on some or the other constitutional post for 40 years… what else can a person ask for? I have been CM thrice, MLA, MP, Union minister, and state party chief,” Gehlot told reporters in Jaisalmer, hours before the scheduled meeting in Jaipur.
Commenting on the developments in the Congress, deputy leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore said, “Stop the drama of resigning. If all the brave Congress MLAs really want to resign, then under rule 173 of the Rules and Procedures of the Assembly, they should submit their resignation to the speaker. The speaker is requested to accept the resignation immediately under 173(2).”
“The current political situation in Rajasthan is pointing towards President’s rule,” Rathore said.
