Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 20: An unscheduled late night meeting of the ruling Congress Legislature Party in Rajasthan on Tuesday has caused consternation in the rebel camp about the chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s next plans.
Gehlot is widely being speculated as the party high command’s choice to contest the Congress presidential elections scheduled next month. If elected, he will be expected to resign as the Rajasthan chief minister in keeping with the Congress policy of “one man, one post.” Besides, the elections are being held for a “full time” Congress president and it would not be possible for him to hold on to two very demanding posts.
In the event of his stepping down as the Rajasthan chief minister, he is expected to be succeeded by his bete noir and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, but Gehlot has convened the CLP meeting when Pilot is away from Jaipur in Kerala attending the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” by Rahul Gandhi.
Rajasthan Congress leadership, however, refused to attach any special significance to the CLP meeting which was announced by Gehlot only on Tuesday evening asking his MLAs to meet at his official residence at 10 P.M. Set to run for Congress president, Gehlot is likely to inform his party colleagues his next set of plans.
The Congress sources said the MLAs have merely been “asked to stay back” for a meeting at 10 pm tonight in Jaipur, after Gehlot’s dinner for Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Sachin Pilot, who is in Kerala for Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” will be a prominent absentee at this meeting.
Officially, the MLAs have not been given a reason for the CLP meeting. As per schedule, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who hails from Rajasthan, was on a visit to Jaipur on Tuesday and in the evening was present at the Rajasthan Assembly for a felicitation ceremony, attended by Gehlot, Speaker CP Joshi, and Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, among others.
This is followed by a dinner for Dhankhar at CM residence, where all the MLAs, of all the parties, have been invited too. This will be followed by the CLP meet.
“The CLP meet is called whenever it is convenient for the leader (chief whip). A CLP meet is usually called when the Assembly session is on. The MLAs are asked to be present for the proceedings since important work is undertaken during the session,” government Deputy Chief Whip Mahendra Chaudhary said.
Since the party MLAs will be present for the dinner, they’ve been asked to stay back for the meet in order to save time, rather than calling the CLP meet on some other day,” he said.
Usually, the CLP meet is held before the start of an Assembly session but in the present case, it hasn’t been held yet.
Gehlot, 71, is the Gandhis’ choice for the leadership of the Congress, and has been for long, but he is reportedly reluctant to give up his Rajasthan role. If he does, Sachin Pilot is mostly likely to step. But Gehlot is not on board with that, say sources, and neither are MLAs who back him. Sources say Tuesday night meeting could be his another show of strength which was Gehlot’s way of rallying his MLAs and keeping his flock together at a time big changes may be ahead.
Though Gehlot is learnt to have agreed to file his nomination on Monday, when the Congress opens its election process, he is reportedly hoping to persuade Rahul Gandhi to return as Congress president. Sources said Gehlot has told the Congress leadership that he wants to stay on as Chief Minister for some time, even he became the Congress president.
If he has to move to national politics, say sources, he wants a loyalist to rule as his proxy in Rajasthan and not Sachin pilot. If not, then he wants to keep both roles by taking over as working president of the Congress with Sonia Gandhi as full-time chief.
The Congress will accept nominations till September 30. The elections for Congress president, if needed (if there are more than one candidate), will be held on October 17. The results will be declared on October 19. Gehlot is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Wednesday from where he would fly to Kerala to join with Rahul Gandhi at the “Bharat Jodo Yatra.” He is due to return to Delhi on September 24 to be in the national capital for four days during which he was likely to file his nomination for the Congress president’s elections.
Gehlot has guarded his post so far and weathered crises like an alleged BJP attempt to topple his government and the revolt by Sachin Pilot in 2020 when Pilot rebelled against him and shifted to Delhi with 18 MLAs. A month-long standoff ended after the Gandhis intervened.
Both Gehlot and Pilot were in an intense race to become Chief Minister after the Congress won the Rajasthan election in 2018 but the Congress chose Gehlot as Chief Minister for the third time while Pilot was made his deputy, a post he lost after his rebellion.