Rajasthan Government crisis Live Updates: As many as 100 MLAs arrived at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s residence in Jaipur to prove the government’s majority amid the political crisis in Rajasthan on Monday. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said the party’s door are open for Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, the rebel leader who has claimed that he has the support of over 30 party MLAs in the state’s 200-member assembly.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had issued a whip to all its MLAs, mandating everyone’s presence in the legislative party meeting. The move to test the political waters of Congress in the state comes just four months after the party let Madhya Pradesh slip from its grasp. This has once again underlined the leadership vacuum in the party and how its sense of drift is deepening faultlines within: old versus young, second-generation leaders versus those who rose through the ranks.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had issued a whip to all its MLAs, mandating everyone’s presence in the legislative party meeting. The move to test the political waters of Congress in the state comes just four months after the party let Madhya Pradesh slip from its grasp. This has once again underlined the leadership vacuum in the party and how its sense of drift is deepening faultlines within: old versus young, second-generation leaders versus those who rose through the ranks.
Meanwhile, the BJP is watching closely to see if it can find an opportunity put up an alternate arrangement in Jaipur. But the party is not yet ready to take any step, a source said. “We are just watching the situation. The game still does not appear to be set for the BJP,” a senior party leader said.
In what appears to be a showdown by Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot almost 18 months after Congress returned to power in the state, his office on Sunday claimed that the Ashok Gehlot-led government was reduced to a minority after over 30 Congress and some independent legislators pledged support to Pilot.
The statement issued by Lokendra Singh, who manages media relations for Pilot, also said, “Rajasthan Deputy CM & Congress leader Sachin Pilot not to attend Congress Legislative Party meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow.”
Pilot has remained incommunicado for the past two days, and some legislators backing him also stayed put in the National Capital Region. He was inactive on social media too, and did not respond to calls or text messages by Congress leaders. His silence, however, fueled speculation in New Delhi over his next course of action. When asked if he was joining the BJP, Pilot told The Indian Express, “I am not joining the BJP.”