NEW DELHI: The leadership tussle between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and deputy CM Sachin Pilot is headed for a showdown with Pilot claiming that the state government no longer enjoys a majority even as the Congress legislature party was scheduled to meet on Monday morning.
Breaking his silence over the political crisis in Rajasthan triggered by the state police registering an FIR over an alleged plot to topple the government and a special police team calling Pilot to join the investigation, the deputy CM released an official statement saying Gehlot had lost majority. He claimed over 30 Congress and some Independent MLAs had pledged support to him.
Rajasthan political crisis: Live updates
Pilot’s statement came even as he was in Delhi over the weekend and is learned to have met former Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia, who recently left the party to bring down the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh. The political activity gathered pace with deepening speculation that BJP will support Pilot’s rebellion even though the contours of the arrangement were not evident.
It now remains to be seen how many Congress MLAs show up at the CLP meeting on Monday and if Gehlot is able to rein in the flock.
Gehlot has seemed determined to take the simmering feud with Pilot to the endgame stage after police arrested two BJP-linked men, filed an FIR about an alleged plot to topple the government and served a n