After upsetting the Gandhis with a revolt by more than 90 Rajasthan MLAs who supported him, Ashok Gehlot, the state’s chief minister, has been disqualified from serving as Congress president. Now, candidates include politicians like Mallikarjun Kharge and Digvijaya Singh.
According to sources, the Congress leadership is unhappy with Ashok Gehlot for hatching a scheme against the party during Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” and embarrassing it. The leadership is displeased with the 71-year-old Gandhi favorite’s unwillingness to vacate his position as Chief Minister of Rajasthan, according to insiders.
Before being elected Congress president, Mr. Gehlot, 71, had already decided to leave as Chief Minister after Rahul Gandhi made it plain that he would not be permitted to hold two positions according to the Congress’s “one person, one job” principle.
At a gathering of MLAs on Sunday at Mr. Gehlot’s house, the shift in Rajasthan was scheduled to be publicly proclaimed.
Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge, who attended the conference as central observers, said that the Chief Minister chose the meeting’s time and location.
However, just 20 to 25 MLAs arrived at Mr. Gehlot’s house. The majority of Congress MLAs went to a different gathering at the residence of Mr. Gehlot’s close friend and minister Shanti Dhariwal.
After that meeting, they boarded a special bus to the Speaker’s residence where they vowed to quit if Mr. Gehlot’s opponent Sachin Pilot—who instigated the rebellion against him in 2020—became Chief Minister instead of him.
The MLAs publicly disobeyed party president Sonia Gandhi by refusing to meet with any of the two central leaders separately and presented demands that included selecting a new chief minister only after the Congress president election.
Given that he would have the authority to choose his own successor in Rajasthan, Mr. Gehlot becoming the head of Congress would be a conflict of interest.
Despite the fact that three ministers close to him organised the uprising, Mr. Gehlot denied taking part, claiming his morning visit to a shrine close to the Pakistan-India border where there was no phone service. “My hands are empty. The MLAs are furious “He informed the top management.
The idea that 92 MLAs could threaten a mass resignation without Mr. Gehlot’s explicit encouragement and backing was unheard of in Delhi.
Despite Mr. Gehlot’s apology, the Congress leadership has taken a “serious view” of Mr. Gehlot’s lack of discipline.
The Rajasthan crisis made the tumultuous run-up to the Congress president election on October 17 much worse. A Gandhi is not running in the election for the first time in more than 20 years.
The Congress is contemplating candidates like Mallikarjun Kharge and Digvijaya Singh after Mr. Gehlot, the clear favourite, withdrew. Kamal Nath, the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has also been mentioned. However, when he met with Sonia Gandhi last night, he allegedly stated that he would want to concentrate on his state.
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